Preserving Order: Vancouver
by 122 Generation
Summary: When a condescending crime falls upon Vancouver, there is always a second force to trust: the police. But could two impossibly young 16 year-old constables, named Kellyn and Kate, make an impact in this ongoing crisis? No Pokemon here, but lightly includes a pairing between these two.
1. After the Demise

_**Prologue**_

On this dark night, the clock was ticking until it struck twelve. During this time, a police superintendent was investigating a group of suspicious men. He was quite wary of them, for they all were carrying an irregularly large crate – too bulky for his taste – into a van on Marine Drive, North Vancouver. It occurred to him that the men were wearing black coats as well, another notion of great distrust. He got into his Toyota Corolla, a slick black one to match the time, and tailed them across the Lions Gate Bridge.

_Hmm... They came all the way from Marine Drive to downtown Vancouver. What could they be up to?_ The superintendent thought, just before taking a mental note of where he was going as he crossed Lions Gate Bridge, driving up into an empty, ominous Stanley Park. No sounds could be heard at the moment, only the exhaust coming from the car and his very own breath.

He accelerated as he caught sight of the vehicle he was pursuing, pulled close to the van, and listened. The superintendent raised an eyebrow, realizing one miscalculation of theirs: they left the window slightly open, enough that he could make out a few mumbled voices.

"Okay, so here's what we do," started one of the voices. "We bring Sebring Six to the boss, detonate it in two weeks' time, and then Vancouver will be reduced to a crumpled heap of ashes."

"It's only Vancouver right?" he could hear the smirk in this voice. "Huh! I thought it'd be more devastating than that! But the boss can blow it whenever he wants!"

"We'll have to be quick though," the driver whispered. "We know CSIS and the Vancouver authorities know of our activities in the city. Let alone the..."

"Oh, just bring it to Port Vancouver will you?!"

"Wait a sec... isn't that..." he trailed off as he pointed towards the open window.

They turned their faces to the superintendent, who stared right back.

"GET HIM!" yelled the driver.

Unfortunately, the superintendent didn't have a dispatcher on him.

The superintendent sped up, thinking swiftly, _I have to get the VPD immediately! Or else –_ But it was too late. A bullet, shot from a silenced gun, went through his neck. He was dead before he crashed into a nearby tree...

* * *

_**Chapter one**_

It was early spring. The weather was clear and sunny in Burnaby. Under normal circumstances it would have been a day to go shopping in Metrotown mall, watching a movie, or simply taking a walk in the park.

But these were not normal circumstances, as 500 RCMP constables from the city of Coquitlam (not to mention 400 from Burnaby) gathered to honor one of their fallen superintendents, who was assumed to have died in a car crash. But after investigation, it was found to be assassination.

One of the Coquitlam RCMP attending the funeral was, impossible as it may seem, a Canadian 16-year-old constable with dark brown hair that had one or two spikes at the very back and blue eyes. His name was Kellyn Fiore. At present, Kellyn couldn't bring himself to think of how the superintendent had died. Kellyn highly respected the superintendent because it was him who supported Kellyn to join the RCMP. It was quite a shock to him, as he heard the breaking news during the morning.

He moved his eyes to his co-worker; a girl with lighter brown hair than Kellyn's tied back into two spiky pigtails, ultramarine blue eyes, and green earrings. It was Kate Periphery, who also happened to be 16, a Canadian, and younger than Kellyn by a month (Kate was also the girl Kellyn cherished, but he would never tell her that). Kellyn guessed she was probably thinking the same thing.

"Pre-sent ARMS!" called the Coquitlam Chief Superintendent Stevenston. All the RCMP raised their arms in salute as the superintendent's coffin, clothed in a Canadian flag, was buried. An RCMP officer holding a trumpet, and a second officer holding bagpipes, were beginning to play their grieving tunes.

* * *

Afterwards, the RCMP slowly got into their police cars and drove away to their respective detachments, but for Kellyn and Kate...

"Kellyn! Kate!" called out Stevenston as the two of them were getting into their own police car.

"Look," said Stevenston. "I know this must be a surprise to you, but-"

"It's alright chief," Kellyn grimly replied. "I hope there won't be more officers killed in the future... ugh!" He was given a nudge by Kate.

"You keep talking like that, you might end up getting killed yourself!" she said.

"You know what I mean!" Kellyn said irritably as they were getting in their car.

Stevenston gave a little smile. He evenly said "Well, if you're done arguing I have a little job for you (Kellyn and Kate listened to him intently): remember that you're scheduled to teach safety skills at Pinetree Elementary School. Go!"

Before they left Stevenston had a small chat with Kellyn. "Our superintendent may be gone, but I'm sure he'd have liked you to keep this." He held out a small metal box.

Kellyn stared at it. Stevenston chuckled. "Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous. This is what used to be a lighter box he used in emergencies. It's very light, but its structure is so solid that not even a drill could get through. He carried it wherever he went."

Kellyn smiled and put it into his vest pocket. "All right, I'll see what I can do with it." Then they departed.

"Come on, do we HAVE to go there?!" said Kate. "I mean, we have to teach safety skills over and over and-"

* * *

Kellyn remained silent. Sure, he saw Kate as the prettiest girl he ever knew, (not to mention that they were friends since they were five) but he never liked it when Kate became so irritated. She had been talking for ten minutes straight when they turned onto Highway 1! It wasn't until they turned onto Lougheed Highway (a road leading to Coquitlam and pronounced low-heed) that Kate finally stopped talking.

Finally, on one of the residential areas in Coquitlam, Kellyn and Kate pulled over to Pinetree Elementary School. After they entered the specific classroom, they began teaching. Though Kate was a little nervous at speaking, she had the courage to do so. She had no choice; Kellyn was drawing on the board!

Kate talked a lot about 'what-to-dos' and 'what-not-to-dos.' Kellyn frantically drew and drew to keep up with what Kate was saying. It wasn't until a little long pink-haired girl raised her hand after the lesson.

"Anything you'd like to know?" Kate asked.

"Yep! Is Kate your girlfriend Kellyn?" she asked. The entire class gave a big "Oooooh..." Kate turned around so that Kellyn couldn't see she was blushing.

"Class, I think that's a little personal..." the teacher began, but Kate raised a hand to politely silence her.

"W-well, uh, y-you see..." Kellyn's face went a little red. "Kate's my co-worker, but we are in the same grade you know." Kellyn looked at Kate "Bottom line, though, we're just friends. That's all."

"Whatever," said the pink-haired girl, "I'll still call her your girlfriend until you admit it!"

Kellyn was about to speak when Kate's cell phone rang out. It was one of the local patrol officers.

"Hello?" Kate spoke to it quietly.

"_This is an RCMP patrol. The word's out that the Vancouver Police are holding a must-know briefing in an hour. All police municipalilites in the Lower Mainland are to attend, or listen to it._"

"Okay, we'll be right there shortly."

Kellyn looked at Kate, confused.

"What's going on?" whispered Kellyn.

"(Sigh), the VPD's holding a briefing in downtown. The RCMP's to join." Kate muttered. "It's got to be urgent," she started to head out of the classroom.

"Okay, see ya!" Kellyn shouted to the speechless children.

* * *

Heading for downtown; the two of them drove down Highway 1, exited on First Avenue, and headed to the VPD center on Cambie Street. Where the VPD spokesperson and Stevenston shook hands and began to speak.

* * *

A press conference went on after the briefing.

"...as everyone should know, there have been series of smuggling activity in Canada lately from the criminal organization GSI," said Stevenston. "However, within the past week most of the GSI's activities have been intensely focused on Vancouver. This cannot go unnoticed. Therefore a warrant has been issued for the entire country for the GSI's arrest. The RCMP and the VPD will investigate the GSI activity in Vancouver. Roadblocks will be set on highways until their capture. They will range through the entire province including areas such as Prince George and the Lower Mainland."

"Excuse me, Mr. Stevenston. About to this morning's breaking news..."

"Ah, yes. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has reason to believe that the GSI are connected to the death of last night's shooting. Because of this, the GSI are to be considered extremely dangerous. To the public: it should be noted that they are known to wear black coats that cover them entirely..."

* * *

The briefing went on for two hours. When they had concluded, Kellyn and Kate went back to Coquitlam to a Starbucks on Lougheed Highway. Kate ordered a hot chocolate for herself and another for Kellyn. While sipping their drinks Kate asked. "Anything on the GSI?"

Kellyn put down the _Province_ newspaper he was reading. "No, the only thing so far is the shooting of the superintendent. I'll expect more news tomorrow," he turned to the sports pages.

It seemed like a casual day, if not for the funeral they had just attended.

A minute later Kate stood up, appearing alert. "Hang on, do you hear that?"

Kellyn did hear it. It was the sound of a roaring engine, mixed with the sound of crashing, gunfire and the screaming of civilians. The only thing he could do was follow Kate outside.

Kate looked around and there it was; Lougheed Highway completely covered in damaged, broken, or destroyed cars. In the midst of it all the chaos, there was an erratically-driving SUV who didn't seem to care for the safety of the civilians.

* * *

**Review just once, and I'll guarantee eleven extra chapters will be on their way!**


	2. Violent Actions

_**Chapter two**_

Kate was first to react. She took Kellyn by the wrist, rushed to their police car, and spoke into her link, "Dispatch: I've got a situation on Lougheed Highway; an SUV is driving erratically causing multiple collisions. I'm in pursuit!"

"Back-up is on the way. Move in." Central replied Kate took the wheel, turned the sirens on, and started to pursue the SUV. As soon as the SUV took notice of the RCMP behind it, it was swerving and colliding with traffic to lose Kate. An oncoming Honda Civic was tackled by the SUV sideways off road.

"This is ridiculous," said Kellyn. "The SUV definitely looks like a Porsche Cayenne. But I don't get it."

"WHAT?" Kate shouted as she swerved to avoid the Honda.

"How the Cayenne takes all those hits and still it won't break."

"OH JUST SHUT UP AND WATCH THE PORSCHE KELLYN!" yelled Kate.

Then the Cayenne made a sharp turn onto Highway 1, continually driving at an inconsiderable high speed. Making any attempts to lose the RCMP behind them. Then the Cayenne turned into an exit heading for Brunette Avenue in the city of New Westminster.

Kellyn spoke into his link, "The suspect vehicle has turned right into the Brunette Avenue exit, heading for New Westminster." In that minute, five New Westminster police cars were helping Kate pursue the Cayenne.

Kellyn took a few seconds to try and memorize the Cayenne's license plate. _Let's see, he thought, 179 MNP, got it._ But the Cayenne's next move was-

"Hey, there's the Sapperton Skytrain station," said a voice from the Cayenne, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Let's do it," said another.

Then a passenger tossed out a black briefcase near the Skytrain station.

"Kate, hit the brakes!" said Kellyn. Then he got out of the car, picked up the briefcase, yelled to the nearby watching civilians "EVERYONE BACK AWAY!" Then he threw the briefcase into the nearest clearing as far away from Sapperton station.

The civilians where Kellyn was throwing the briefcase ran aside. As soon as the briefcase hit the ground, there was a destructive explosion that erupted in a blue light. Kate, watching from her car, watched in horror as the bomb started to destroy anything within a 20 meter radius. But the only things the explosion managed to destroy were some trash cans, an empty building, and a Greyhound bus. Still, a chunk of New Westminster was in ruins.

Kate was breathless. She slowly took her link, and said "W-we've lost t-the suspect vehicle. P-pursuit has b-been compromised..."

Kellyn looked at the mess the bomb had made; he took his link saying "Send in paramedics, we need a cleanup crew too." More New Westminster police showed up to clear the civilians. Firefighters came to douse the flames, as well as helicopters to support them.

* * *

That night, a police spokesperson came to address the crowd.

"There was a high speed pursuit that started from Lougheed Highway and was carried to the Sapperton Skytrain station in New Westminster. The suspects threw out a bomb that destroyed everything in an estimated 20 meter radius. An officer threw the bomb aside in an attempt to save the civilians. Unfortunately, five people were pronounced dead at the scene. Seven more were injured."

"Are there any suspicions that this was a gang's work?" asked a reporter.

"Not at all, we know that the gangs have been lying low lately, but it's impossible to tell how they got their hands on such explosives. In fact, there hasn't been a single crime from them that has aroused our suspicions."

"Is there any confirmations of who is responsible?"

"An officer reports the pursued vehicle is a Porsche Cayenne. It's reported that it's highly armored and holds the license number 179 MNP. We've checked the registry with the Transportation Ministry but the number does not exist. Our conclusion is that the Porsche might have been stolen or shipped illegally, and this could be the GSI to blame. But we can't confirm anything yet, since the case is still under investigation."

The conference went on for forty-five minutes, and then it came to a close.

* * *

At the Guildford Way RCMP station in Coquitlam, a 22-year-old police sergeant named Michelle Jansen was watching Kellyn given a little distinction for his efforts to dispose of the bomb. Of the twenty officers applauding, Kate was clapping the hardest. Kellyn smiled at his co-worker.

Being Kellyn and Kate's friend since she visited their school in the previous year, Sergeant Jansen greeted the twosome after Kellyn was awarded his distinction.

"Hey Kellyn! Kate!"

"Sergeant Jansen!" Kellyn spoke back as Kate waved.

"Nice job you did there Kellyn. Actually I think it's quite brave!" said Jansen.

"Apparently," Kate muttered. Quietly she sighed.

Kellyn noticed. "Are you okay Kate?" he asked with concern.

Kate didn't know what to say, she timidly replied "I'm fine."

One of the Inspectors of the detachment walked into the room with a face of fury. "Great, I've just lost one of my files. I've actually found it, but it is stuck between a very thin gap between the shelves. Can any of you guys get it out?"

There was a murmur between the constables inside the room.

"Honestly! Can't anyone notice who's the slim one here?!" shouted a very irritated voice, and that voice belonged to Sergeant Jansen.

"Well, I –" the Inspector stammered.

Sergeant Jansen marched over to where the file was and swiftly pulled it out. "Here! Next time, just ask for my help! Nothing more!"

Kellyn and Kate looked at each other and smiled. Sergeant Jansen had always made an issue when no one could notice she was slim, and made bigger issues when others talked about it. Once, a Staff-Inspector made a joke of her body by saying it was skinny. Jansen threw a fit. She personally went up to him and gave a harsh argument of what was the difference between being slim and skinny. Jansen's outcome was a result of twenty pushups.

* * *

_Flashback, two months ago…_

_Kellyn and Kate walked past the RCMP doors to see Sergeant Jansen for their assignments. When they had received them, the three put on their jackets and walked outside._

"_Careful you don't catch a cold Sergeant Jansen," a Staff-Inspector snickered. "After all, I wonder just how far you can handle the cold since you don't have that many layers especially when you might be too skinny to handle the weather."_

_Jansen took the Staff-Inspector by the arm and dragged him aside. "HEY! DON'T YOU DARE DO THAT AGAIN! DO YOU REALISE HOW HARMFUL THAT IS? I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S_ _WRONG WITH YOU. I MAY BE SLIM, BUT CERTAINLY NOT SKINNY!"_

"_SERGEANT JANSEN!" the Staff-Inspector roared. "YOU GO TOO FAR! O-KAY… DO YOUR TWENTY PUSHUPS!"_

_Jansen got down on the floor reluctantly and began pushing up and down._

"_You'll need to count your pushups too," the Staff-Inspector said coldly._

_Jansen didn't say anything. Instead, she started all over again from one. "One… two…"_

* * *

"Ah… good times," Kate smiled.

"Hey," Jansen interrupted, "do you guys have anything to do tonight?"

Then, as if Kate suddenly came to her senses, she exclaimed "Oh gosh! I completely forgot to do my homework! 'Night Sergeant!" She rushed away home.

Kellyn grinned. "Well, I've already done my schoolwork...," he consulted his watch, "Gosh! It's 10 pm already! Got to go Sergeant! See ya!" He rushed home.

Now it was Sergeant Jansen's turn to grin.

* * *

_**Chapter two B: A Day at School**_

"Big Brother? Wake up!"

Kellyn woke up suddenly in his house on Pierce Place, Coquitlam, he saw his little sister looking right over him.

"Morning Little Sis," Kellyn yawned out.

"You know Big Brother; you're going to be late for school you know?"

Kellyn groaned, "Then why didn't you tell me to get up then?"

"I DID!" Little Sis protested, stamping her foot.

So Kellyn gradually got up, brushed his teeth, changed and came downstairs to eat breakfast.

"Good morning Kellyn," said Kellyn's mom.

"Morning mom!" Kellyn said as he rapidly started to eat.

Little Sis was watching Kellyn carefully. "How's Kate been doing?"

He paused, before answering; "She's a little..." he trailed off.

He looked at his watch, "Never mind, I'm going to be late! See ya Little Sis!"

* * *

At Gleneagle Secondary School, things were as normal as always. Kellyn and Kate, protected from the public media by the Canadian secret service, never made it on TV or the papers.

But that didn't mean they could share some secrets with their friends.

"I've seen the news of the GSI," said Kellyn's friend Ivan. "No way, that was you who chased them to New Westminster?"

"Exactly," answered Kellyn with a smug grin.

In another set of lockers, Kate was talking with her friend Melodee, an auburn-haired teenager with a quirky attitude.

"Oh my gosh!" cried Melodee, "_You_ chased them down Lougheed Highway? And witnessed the explosion too?! Oh my gosh!"

"Yeah," Kate shuddered as she remembered, "Believe me, it's something you won't want to see again... You're not going to tell anyone are you?"

Melodee knew what would happen if, besides the pursuit in New Westminster, the media discovered Kellyn and Kate were working with the RCMP. They were warned it would wreck their lives and the school's, in spite of CSIS's protection.

"It's alright, our entire class knows, but you know they can be trusted."

Kate relaxed. "Well, at least no one else can know."

"What are your thoughts on Kellyn? Oh my gosh!"

Kate took this by surprise. Of all the boys in her class, she thought of Kellyn not only as being the most handsome boy in her class, but also with the greatest heart (then again, the class of grade 10 knew that Kellyn was friendly and considerate to ALL the students in the school. He would never try to gain power over others and was also friendly to the bullies in the school. Ultimately, this was how he had gained the respect of all his classmates. Kate noticed this when she was twelve). She blushed and started to giggle, "Aw... nothing!"

Melodee giggled too, "You can tell me what you're thinking of. Oh my gosh! Come on!"

"Well..." Kate began, "You know he and I have been friends since we were, what it was? Uh... Five! Yeah! That was it!"

Melodee gave this a thought, then said "Is Kellyn an exception to those you like?"

"How long have you liked him? And Kate, I mean a love kind of like, oh my gosh." Melodee's eyes became very round when she said this, not to mention a clear smile.

Kate kept her blushing under control, "It's written in the Bible 'Love your neighbor as yourself' (Leviticus 19:18 NIV) Yeah... of course I'd love him! He's a childhood friend too!"

"Oh my gosh, Kate," Melodee rolled her eyes. "I'm talking about a ROMANTIC kind of love!"

"Uh... put it that way," Kate gulped, "It would be safe to say... four years...?"

There was a moment of silence. Kate looked at Melodee, who was indeed more than surprised.

"Oh. OH. OH MY GOSH! KATE! FOUR YEARS?! THAT'S BIZARRE!" Melodee screamed, "DO YOU HAVE ANY SENSE AT HOW LONG THAT IS? THAT'S LOVE! YOU MIGHT AS WELL TELL HIM NOW!"

"I-I can't! My cousin would say that's a misinterpretation of love anyway! Why bother!" Kate took a step away from Melodee, though she was actually laughing at this, "He's handsome for sure, but still..." Kate was suddenly aware of how many students were staring at the two of them, all wearing expressions of confusion. Casually she turned to everyone and sent them away. But really she was looking around for a certain boy.

She breathed a sigh of relief, _at least Kellyn isn't here_.

Melodee was taking a breather, but it didn't last too long since she was used to being talkative. She was about to speak out loud again when Kate clamped her own hand on Melodee's mouth.

"Okay! I'll admit it to him when I have to," she hissed.

Melodee quietly clapped her hands in delight, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! You're going to do it! Hurray!"

"I said when I have to!" Kate said sternly, "I'm not going to do it now!"

"Oh my gosh, it's your funeral," Melodee smirked, "I'll give you three days, if you don't say anything, I WILL do it for you, and that's a promise!"

The bell rang, Kellyn's class headed for English, where their patient teacher, Ms. Stott, was waiting for them.

"Well, I'm glad Kellyn and Kate could make it to class today," she looked at the two of them, "How long are you working after school today?"

"Oh, we're here for the whole day," said Kate. The class cheered.

The school day went on very quickly. After Kellyn and Kate went through their classes and assignments, not to mention extra work for the day after, the clock had reached 3:10. The bell rang for dismissal.

Unfortunately for Kellyn, he always seemed to catch the eyes of at least two girls in the school every day. While he was being eyed at, the rare occasion would come when he would be chased…

"Look! It's Kellyn Fiore!" shouted a girl.

"It's him alright!" shouted another.

"Get him!" shouted a third.

Kellyn groaned. He picked up his walking pace toward the exit. On the way, he passed Melodee and murmured. "You have ten seconds."

Melodee smiled. "My pleasure."

Melodee pushed Kate and Ivan out of school doors. When she had ensured that they were all out, she took a deep breath and screamed at the top of her lungs. "Oh. OH. OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! Guess is having a clearance sale going on! Right now!"

The most ridiculous thing of what Melodee said was that it was true, no one could argue with her. Very soon, there was a stampede within the school. Girls screamed and ran their way onto Lansdowne Drive, onto Guildford Way and on Johnson Street turned south to Coquitlam Centre (if you're unclear about Guildford Way, Johnson Street is the perfect divider. Gleneagle Secondary School is west of Johnson Street, the RCMP detachment is on the east).

Melodee panted and peacefully walked out of the school to meet up with Kellyn, Kate, and Ivan.

"Hey Kellyn, do you want to play a game of Generals today?" Ivan asked.

Kellyn, for the first time in a while, gave an incredibly big smile in response. "Sure! Why not?"

So he headed to Ivan's house, Melodee decided to visit Kate's. Apart from the homework they were all getting, it seemed it was going to be a great day.


	3. VPD: Emergency Scenario

**I wrote the storyline when I was in seventh grade, but I wrote the actual story just about two or three years later. Bear with me here on this story...**

* * *

_**Chapter three**_

Normally, Kellyn and Kate would head off to school for about seven hours, do their regular schoolwork, pick up extra homework, and then they would head to the RCMP on Guildford Way where Sergeant Jansen would wait for them. This was more of a part-time job they did for four to six hours a day almost every week after school, with the exception of weekends. On some days though, they might have to work full-time in case of a shortage or an emergency. On other days the two might not need to work at all, on part of the restriction by the Ministry of Education.

This day was no different than a regular one.

Kate arrived at the RCMP station the where Sergeant Jansen was waiting. Kellyn was already there.

"Okay, let's see, today's agenda is..."

"Yes? Yes?" Kellyn said expectedly.

"What to do about the GSI situation in Vancouver."

"Anything exciting?!" said Kellyn.

Sergeant Jansen pushed her dark chestnut-colored hair behind her ear. It wasn't what would be called short since its length fell down to her neck to the point where it was a centimeter above her shoulders; the hairstyle on the front was cut in a layered-bob (angled to her right) and was neatly combed straight down. It was combed so straight down that, if not for the RCMP uniform she was wearing, she could have easily have been mistaken for a waitress at some top class restaurant, a hotel receptionist, or even a flight attendant.

She was smirking at Kellyn. "For the time being, we'll need to do some highway patrol until more GSI has been uncovered."

Kellyn's enthusiasm made a sudden drop, replaced by gloomy look. "Fine... where're we patrolling...?"

"Westbound Lougheed Highway, near the Barnet Highway intersection."

Kate jumped, "Well, at least I can head to downtown when we're done."

* * *

Kellyn and Kate were waiting on the side of Lougheed Highway, pulled just beside a traffic light just in case if any speeders tried anything funny.

"I wonder why the GSI would focus on Vancouver," said Kate.

Kellyn was at the wheel, "Well, you know Vancouver's in a huge district. Know what I mean? Greater Vancouver."

"Well, the Greater Vancouver district stretches from West Van to Delta to Langley and all the way to our home in Coquitlam! Even White Rock's included."

Kate was beginning to understand, "But that means...the GSI could take anything they want and back in the entire area." Then another idea surfaced, "But they focus on Vancouver because of its harbors."

"I hear you," Kellyn said. "I reckon (this is just a guess) that smuggling by ships are a lot easier than by car or plane. No thorough checks needed."

Kate breathed, "Then the GSI have little hope in smuggling to places like Whistler or Pemberton. Remember? There'll be roadblocks there too."

"Yeah," agreed Kellyn.

An hour passed before the dispatcher made a call.

"W_e are receiving an emergency call from Vancouver police; we're putting them on contact._"

Another voice went through the link. "_We are on Cambie Street near VPD main center, engaged in a firefight with eight suspects. They are highly armed and have wounded several of our officers. We're requesting roadblock assistance on all of Cambie! Fourteen city police have closed off a few intersections, but we have no backup!_"

The dispatcher called to the RCMP "_Thirty police vehicles are required on-scene to close the gap on Cambie immediately._"

Kellyn kept listening, and then heard the first contribution, "This is Burnaby RCMP, we can support five patrol cars, and they're en-route to Cambie Street."

Two minutes passed, then, "Richmond RCMP here! Nine patrol cars are on-scene right now! They're starting to cross Cambie Bridge."

Another minute passed, "Surrey RCMP can spare two patrol cars."

A split second after Surrey's call another voice came in, "This is RCMP North Vancouver, eleven patrol cruisers plus a carrier are crossing First Narrows Lions Gate Bridge right now!"

Then Kate's cell phone rang, she answered it. It was Sergeant Jansen.

"Kate! We have a shortage in patrol cars right now! Since you're so close to Highway 1, we need you to go downtown right away!"

"All right, got it." Kate, feeling a little bit of pressure, turned to Kellyn. "We have to get to Cambie now!"

Kellyn turned on the sirens, thinking_ wow, an emergency call just for us_. Feeling energized, he stepped hard on the gas pedal.

Sergeant Jansen's voice went on the link, "_Coquitlam RCMP is supplying three patrol cars. One is approaching Highway 1_."

Kellyn increased his speed as he zoomed down Lougheed Highway, cars moving out of the way for him. At one point there was a small traffic jam and a red light on Pitt River Road. Kate simply guided Kellyn to move into the opposite lane, driving past the red light, and back onto the right-side lane.

They continued to speed down Lougheed until they came to the Highway 1 exits. Kellyn turned westbound and kept on driving.

* * *

While driving rapidly, Kellyn listened to Kate's directions for the fastest route to Cambie Street. As it happened, First Avenue was in a traffic jam. Instead of turning there; Kate suggested using the Hastings Street exit.

While Kellyn and Kate were bustling down Hastings Street most of the RCMP vehicles requested had turned up to set up their roadblocks, with the exception of the Surrey police who hadn't arrived yet.

A VPD officer noticed that one intersection on Cambie was left out. He pulled over a passing blue Ford van and talked to the American driver (Kent).

"We need your van for police services."

"What type of police services may I ask?"

"A roadblock! This is an emergency situation!"

"I see," said Kent. He got out of the van, along with his family, and moved aside for the officer to use the van. The officer drove it to another roadblock.

* * *

By now Kellyn had turned from Hastings to Main Street. The position to set his roadblock was on West Broadway, which was about five city blocks away from where they were. Kellyn, with no second thoughts, drifted his way there.

Kate, on the other hand, was reviewing the roadblock positions. The bridge connecting Cambie and BC Place had already been sealed off. The RCMP had already blocked off the near areas surrounding the VPD center and Cambie Street, but according to the VPD officer it was too dangerous to seal off the VPD center itself. They were awaiting more roadblocks to appear before they move in. Back at Coquitlam, Kate directed Kellyn to use either Grandview Highway or Lougheed, which led them straight to West Broadway to set up their roadblock.

It was noon; the entire area on Cambie Street was silent except for the sound of gunfire coming from the VPD building. Many VPD officers already had their 9mm pistols out and moved slowly toward the building. Kellyn and Kate were waiting beside their car in anticipation of what would happen next.

And then Kate heard a small explosion from the building. She turned and gasped. An RCMP officer was sent flying to the ground from the blast, unmoving. Two other officers came quickly and dragged him away because armed men in black coats were beginning to catch up to him.

A VPD officer was frantically shouting into his link "An officer's down, we are suffering more casualties by the minute! We need roadblocks to close them off. We are outgunned. Repeat! We are outgunned!"

The shooting continued. The roadblocks in the middle of Cambie Street had already moved in to block off the intersection in front of the VPD.

Central had made their instructions absolutely clear: the suspects were to be taken alive, until further notice that Central approves of actually killing them. Within the hour an RCMP carrier, filled with a unit of tactical troopers (riot police), armed with tear gas, showed up on Cambie Street in front of the building.

From what Kellyn could see, it looks more of a riot than a firefight here he thought. He could hear the screaming of the attackers and knew that the tear gas had worked. Blinded by gas, the group of men backed away quickly from the VPD building, but not before lobbing a grenade into its main entrance. After another small explosion, twenty VPD and RCMP officers rushed to detain the men (there were eight of them). Right there, they were tackled by some officers, wrenched of their weapons by others, and handcuffed with force.

Eventually, the battle (more likely a war!) came to a close. The VPD building was half-destroyed, due to the efforts of the suspects.

A Staff-Sergeant came to speak to the reporters who gathered at Cambie.

"The suspects here have been identified as more GSI agents, who brought in sub-machine guns as their weapon of choice. They also came armed with grenades and many more explosives I can't describe."

"Any effort from the police to deal with the public?" asked the CBC.

"Due to an emergency response call from a VPD officer, over thirty RCMP vehicles managed to close off Cambie Street. The roadblocks have managed to evacuate this area around Cambie. But an officer was wounded in the fight by the GSI. Apart from the fighting, eight suspects have been apprehended. They are facing multiple charges."

* * *

Meanwhile, in one of the dark, beaten harbours of Vancouver, the leader of the criminal organization GSI was watching the report on the CBC news channel. He, like the rest of his team, was dressed in a black coat that was long enough to cover his ankles. He carried on his belt twin customized 10mm pistols that reloaded as quickly as he shot them. He had slick and spiky black/purple hair and on his forehead a black headband. He didn't have a name, nor did he need one. He simply went by Vulture, a name he knew the entire GSI feared, and practically all of his victims.

He had come to Vancouver with a mission; that was to loot everything special in the Vancouver area, then set off a nuclear-enhanced weapons grade bomb, named Sebring Six. This was the first time they had been asked to steal from an entire city and destroy it afterwards, and for this they established a base here. Vulture knew it was worth it, for thirty million dollars would be waiting for him when their objective was done. As Vulture had told his team, it would take those two weeks to finish stealing from the city entirely. The goods would be loaded onto ships, and they would leave on the last night to their secret base.

But it hadn't been easy, because CSIS had managed to break through a bit of their database the day they arrived in Vancouver. Now they had to be even more discreet than usual. It came as a surprise to the GSI that their main base, which they switched every few months, was to be used in Vancouver. Their previous base, used in Miami, had been attacked by the CIA. Vulture decided that Vancouver was a lot more vulnerable, provided that this was Canada.

Vulture looked around at his men, shook his head and spoke.

"It has been seven days since we arrived in Vancouver, I need not tell you that our progress here has been flourishing a lot. The boats we have are already half-full. But even so..."

He paused, took a breath, and went on.

"There was an accident that aroused the RCMP's suspicions three days ago. An RCMP superintendent took notice of our men loading the bomb in North Van. We killed him, but the damage was already done. The RCMP, with the VPD's help, are already getting the connection that his death is connected to us."

"Then the day after that, our Porsche came under pursuit by an RCMP vehicle on Lougheed Highway. We nearly lost it in New Westminster-"

"Excuse me, Vulture. What about today?"

"Yeah, well. It seems the roadblocks from the entire area were unexpected, not to mention a failure to bring down the VPD. But! There is still some more work to be done; it is time to begin phase 3 of our operation here. The very Porsche we used is going to spread more destruction today in downtown, get their attention. I do not doubt they will get away..."

He turned to a laptop, and said "Okay, you two are clear to engage."

* * *

On Cambie Street, the reporters were already getting into their vans and cars. The VPD was still cleaning up the mess and photographing the scene. However, some of the police roadblocks were still in place. From where Kellyn's roadblock was (that is, Broadway) all the way to Richmond the roadblocks moved aside to nearby parking spaces, it was only the upper part of Cambie was closed off. Once again traffic resumed on the streets of Vancouver.

The GSI were being loaded onto a carrier on 12th Avenue. Suddenly, a car drew next to the carrier, windows open with a machine gun aimed outside, and gunned down the arrested eight members of the GSI.

The scene was horrific. Besides having eight heavily blood-stained bodies in the hands of the police, there were plenty of screams in the air as the car pulled away down and ripped anything in its way down Cambie Street.

"_All units we have a top priority situation on Cambie Street_," the dispatcher called.

Kellyn looked to his left, and there, in the midst of the rampage, the same SUV he and Kate pursued: a Cayenne.

Right when the Cayenne whisked past him Kellyn turned on the sirens and began a pursuit through Vancouver.

Kate went on her link "In pursuit of a GSI Porsche Cayenne! Request aerial support!" In seconds, two Crown Victoria RCMP cars and a VPD came to her aid.

In the next precious seconds of the pursuit an RCMP helicopter was approaching the edge of Vancouver. From what the pilot saw, the Cayenne was tearing through every roadblock the VPD/RCMP had set up to stop them; somehow they managed to break their way to Lions Gate Bridge.

Kellyn swerved and drifted his way past the oncoming traffic. He was worried. Though he had three police cars and a helicopter to help pursue the Porsche, one attempted to perform the PIT maneuver but was hit by a stalled Dodge Caravan and ended up crashing onto a Ford Mustang.

Kate felt a surge of fury. She grabbed her link, and shouted "PIT maneuver failed. Suspect is exceeding 200 kilometers in speed! Request roadblock and a spike belt to bring him to a halt. Bring it to North Van."

"This is aerial support: we have a spare spike belt ready. Moving in to block them off."

Kellyn finally crossed Lions Gate. He knew that within a minute, the RCMP would be ready to finish off the Cayenne once and for all.


	4. Combined Night Raid

_**Chapter four**_

The GSI in the Cayenne felt no fear. They were armed, and in their heads the first priority was to lose the police cars behind them.

Through a secure line Vulture said to them "_I would like a picture of your pursuers. They may prove useful as they've come so far,_" So a GSI agent took a picture of the car behind them, and sent them through a laptop he was carrying in the Cayenne.

The image of Kellyn and Kate appeared instantly on Vulture's screen in Port Vancouver. He gave a cold laugh and, after using a face-recognition screen, began searching details about Kellyn and Kate. _Interesting, let's see..._ he thought.

* * *

Back at North Vancouver, a new roadblock, this time made of Chevrolet SUVs lined up across the road. As Kate described, the GSI were exceeding 200 km which meant that if the GSI hit the roadblock at that speed, they'd be dead.

The RCMP helicopter had of course arrived there before the Cayenne did (that is, the other side of Lions Gate Bridge), and dropped a spike belt in front of an opening in the roadblock. This was deliberate. As the GSI wouldn't have the time to pay attention to road. If they had been smart they would have exited into a different lane, but they didn't. They wasted their time on their pursuers.

"_Patrol here_," the link went on, "_The suspect is approaching the roadblock. We are preparing to brace for impact._"

From inside the GSI's Cayenne, the two agents were having a quarrel.

"Where do we-"

"Look! They left an open space. Go through the gap!"

The Porsche had no sooner zoomed past the opening gap in the roadblock. Kate watched in delight as the spike belt punctured the Porsche's tires with a loud BANG! The Porsche had nothing, it could barely move at all. Except for sliding.

"What happened?" said the driver.

"Don't know, maybe a gunshot?"

Though they didn't notice; their car was slowly sliding to a stop. They were approaching Marine Drive in North Vancouver. But they didn't know what to do.

Kellyn sped up. "Okay I'm moving in for a PIT maneuver."

"_This is patrol units. We're right behind you._"

So Kellyn moved in. He drove his car into the Cayenne's rear side and turned hard, causing the car to skid sideways. The Cayenne skidded and lost control, only to slam onto the concrete barrier with a rough crash. Kellyn came to a stop in front of the Cayenne, the patrol cars behind came to help surround it.

"STEP OUT OF THE CAR, TURN YOURSELVES IN YOU'RE SURROUNDED!"

The GSI couldn't do anything. Nor could they allow their looted goods to be discovered in the trunk of their Cayenne. But the battle was lost, they put down their 9mm's and put their hands behind their heads. However, they decided to set explosives on the Cayenne before they were arrested. A pressured bomb was placed in the glove compartment before they got out.

Without warning, a blast blew apart half the Cayenne. Engines, headlights, front seats, were blown apart and burst into flame. One patrol car was slightly shouldered by the fire, but that was all. Fortunately for the police, the back part of the Cayenne; with its looted goods and valuables, were left intact.

The sun was beginning to set. A forensic team was deployed to North Vancouver to gather whatever they could find in the Cayenne.

An investigator found a container in the car labeled "BIO-HAZARDOUS, HANDLE WITH GREAT RISK." Immediately she made a call for the exit to be quarantined, which meant obstructing the bridge as well. It didn't matter though, safety mattered more.

* * *

The two GSI agents were being interrogated in the North Vancouver RCMP station. It was tough to push the agents to talk. It was serious to the point that an RCMP Inspector personally watched the interrogation. A constable, accompanied by another holding a massive flashlight, began to grow impatient.

"Who brought you to Vancouver?" the constable fiercely asked.

"I thought you'd have known that."

"Don't play games with me. I'm sure you'll cope."

"Whatever."

"What's your reason here anyway?"

"If you're that desperate, I'll tell you we're being paid for this."

"Each and every one?"

"Well, our leader reaps the max benefits of the op."

"A leader huh?"

"Huh? Was it something I said?"

Apparently he'd forgotten what he just said seconds ago. The constable made neat notes on his pad, stood up, and said "Thank you for your time."

The man had a confused expression, still probing about what he had just uttered, as the officer left the room.

At the same time the VPD with the RCMP forensic team were busy examining the contents of the confiscated goods, except for the bio-hazardous material from Lions Gate which was under heavy containment. They narrowed down where they were suspected to have come from, judging by the smell of seawater on them: Boundary Bay and English Bay were suspected, but the civilians hadn't heard of any suspicious activity in the past week, especially if a Porsche Cayenne somehow washed on shore. The other suspect area was Burred Inlet, which led to the federal harbor of Port Vancouver, right beside downtown.

The investigation, including inspection of the Cayenne's armour, went on for seven hours into the night before all the police wrapped up their conclusions.

The following morning Chief Superintendent Stevenston held an urgent police conference. The Vancouver Police Department (that is, the VPD) and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (that is, the RCMP) spokespeople arrived, and an agent from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (that is, CSIS) also came to share.

The RCMP spokesperson went up first.

"Now, the forensics team has but one conclusion: the GSI are hiding in Port Vancouver, no doubt. We've managed to extract only a lone fingerprint from yesterday's pursuit and we've located where their approximate whereabouts are. What the RCMP requests from the VPD and the federal government is to authorize the RCMP to raid the harbor."

"But what else concerns us is the use of nuclear weapons by the GSI. After secure containment from Lions Gate we found they were in possession of half a kilo of radium. Very dangerous. We must therefore treat the GSI with higher caution. I repeat, we ask the VPD to allow the raid of Port Vancouver."

There were a few murmurs amongst the VPD. The CSIS agent and a VPD officer were quietly talking into their phones. In a moment, the VPD spokesperson came up next, her face sweating a little.

"After a conversation with the Vancouver Police Chief, we have authorized the RCMP to attack on the grounds of the City of Vancouver. Thanks to the warrant issued by Chief Superintendent Stevenston, we are also willing to supply officers if needed for the raid on the Port."

"This does not mean however, the public media will be allowed in. The port is still government property, but the fact remains that the GSI are considered extremely dangerous forbid everyone to enter the port. Starting today, Port Vancouver will be closed off until the apprehending of the GSI. What remains to be said is the federal government's permission to enter Port Vancouver."

She took a drink of water, and continued.

"It should be reminded that the GSI are as bad as a terrorist organization, no maybe worse, though this one focuses on killing alone. Explosives are an example. If the public can manage to see a GSI agent in the open, identified by black coats, an immediate report to the nearest police detachment is advised. We noted the GSI have managed to grab a hold of several assault rifles too. Treat with caution."

After a few more hours, the VPD spokesperson finished, and finally the CSIS agent, spending half an hour on a phone call, got up.

"I am here speaking on behalf of CSIS. First and foremost I have a message from the federal government."

He opened a projection screen and it began to film the recording.

"I am the Minister of Public Safety. To the RCMP detachments in the Vancouver area, and the Vancouver Police: the federal government has approved the raiding of Port Vancouver. Apart from the GSI activity, I've a theory of what the GSI are doing in Vancouver."

"It's simple: the GSI has moved their base here. It was only yesterday that the CIA had uncovered the GSI's base in Miami. But it's empty. The fact that they moved across the continent suggests they've been trying to cover their tracks."

"I also have a bit of classified info to share that is now disclosed. Three weeks ago, an American nuclear facility reported the disappearance of one of their projects: a weapons grade bomb with the name of Sebring Six. With their codes and locks, only the GSI are known to break down that level of security. They probably brought it here."

"But I will say this again; the raid on Port Vancouver has been authorised. I will leave it to the police chiefs to decide upon the time of the raid."

Then the screen went blank. The CSIS agent stood up again and said "Well, there you have it. You've been given the OK to attack, but first..."

He opened another file on the screen, and on it showed a picture of an agile-looking man with slick and spiky black/purple hair. He was seen on a security camera just the week before, and was drawing out two pistols.

"This is the GSI's leader. He doesn't have a name, but he goes by Vulture. He's ranked on INTERPOL's most wanted list and known to have raided fourteen major countries. Two of them, Pakistan and Belgium, he managed to raid all on his own, each with as many kills as the next."

"But what everyone should know is that the GSI acts directly underneath him. He has no second-in-commands as he controls the GSI on his own."

He cleared his throat, "The point is: the capture of Vulture should be considered to be the first priority of above all things. Doing this will enable the destabilisation of the GSI. Permanently."

He nodded to Stevenston, who after a ten minute discussion with the VPD walked back up to close the conference.

"The raid will take place tomorrow night. I expect roadblocks to close off Port Vancouver at the same time."

"I may have to point out that Emergency Response Teams (ERT) from the RCMP will be on-scene to take the lead on this raid. Helicopters will provide support too."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the actual Port Vancouver, Vulture had called a meeting with the GSI and explained what was happening. After discussing, one member had the nerve to ask, "What now? Oh great Vulture? We are on the brink of being arrested, and we can never move in broad daylight..."

"Easy, my friend," Vulture said coolly, his husky voice coming out smoothly. "I have a plan for us." He gestured toward another agent, "Pull up my file."

The face of Kellyn appeared on the screen.

"Who in the world is he? Your plan?" an agent smirked, but his eyes revealed sarcasm.

"In a way," Vulture refused to show any emotion. "His name is Kellyn Fiore, an RCMP constable working for Coquitlam."

A quiet dispute stirred among the GSI. One said, "That's impossible Vulture, he can't be any older than 18 years old."

Vulture gave a thin smile, "Actually he's 16. But I should tell you that he was the officer who pursued our Porsche Cayenne twice, he and his co-worker ended up arresting the thing and the GSI agents driving it in the end.

"What can I tell you about him? He may be one of the greatest threats we've ever had to the GSI. Anyway, I picked up a clue on his part on the raid. He's actually going to be with the backup line, second to the ERT. But know what? During most his time on-duty, and sometimes when he's not, he's always seen with _her_," he hit another key on his laptop.

The image changed. It showed a picture of Kate.

"This is Miss Kate Periphery. Like Kellyn, she's also 16. And she's taking part in the raid too. What we'd know of course is that she will be with Kellyn."

"What's the connection?"

"From the start we considered taking one of Kellyn's family members to hold hostage, but we ought to take someone more valuable than that."

"Obviously, she must be someone special to Kellyn," said Vulture. "From his file, Kellyn would do a lot to stop the taking of a human life. Were we to capture Kate, he would be under our complete control. Kellyn would do anything to stop losing her. If he did nothing..." Vulture gave an evil smile. "Kellyn would never forgive himself."

"You're suggesting blackmail."

"Yes. On top of that we can engage a heavy firefight with the police outside. We can announce the taking of Kate to them so that they would have to treat us seriously. I can also add that Kate must have feelings for Kellyn too. They are classmates from the same school..."

"Vulture, I don't think Kellyn will easily comply," said an agent. "He may be 16, but he still has a mind of justice. In spite that Kate is actually captured."

"Don't worry," Vulture said evenly. "I will see to them myself."

* * *

The GSI soon armed them with everything they had in Port Vancouver. They also set up fortifications, barricades, and massive automatic 12mm machine turrets. With their familiarity of the harbor, they had the element of surprise.

* * *

At the Guildford Way station, Stevenston was explaining positions with the Coquitlam RCMP, while police from across the city were preparing themselves.

"Whoever is available during this raid, you will be brought to the middle lines, because ERT's will take point. I will divide you into much smaller teams of about six, each under command by a Sergeant or Inspector. We have all teams on the RCMP Bulletin, please get organised and meet with the carriers in an hour."

* * *

According to her rulebook; Sergeant Jansen had to keep watch over Kellyn and Kate at all times during a major operation. But somehow Stevenston had managed to make an exception for tonight. She was worried, and she personally escorted Kellyn and Kate to their carrier (Jansen was with the 7th line, the twosome's was the 5th).

It was night; Kellyn was loading up his 9mm as Kate was talking with Jansen.

"I'm feeling really worried, Kate. The thought of losing the two of you..." she trembled. "I don't think I could live with that."

Kate understood. Sergeant Jansen was one of the most hardworking officers the RCMP ever had in their records. She had four years of service so far but she was already made a Sergeant in her second. It was during her third year that she managed to get Kellyn and Kate to join the RCMP, she was appointed to act as their superior.

From the start, Jansen had tried to act tough. But she failed miserably, mostly because it wasn't in Jansen's nature to be rough. Rather, she actually enjoyed her cheerful nature. Gradually, after watching, talking, and laughing with them in just two years Jansen became more of a great friend than a superior.

Now they were in Guildford Way, Kate replied. "You don't need to worry Sergeant! We'll be fine! I'm sure!"

Jansen laughed, because it seemed Kate already knew that they'd come back in one piece. "All right, see ya there!"

* * *

Finally, when the sun was starting to set, Central made a call.

"A_ll units, the operation on Port Vancouver is a go. RCMP units and VPD respond._"

Across Vancouver, from North Vancouver to Richmond, Burnaby to Coquitlam, sirens were all that was in the cold spring air. Richmond RCMP came from different directions and with many carriers. Same went for North Van.

The Coquitlam police were already crossing from Lougheed Highway to Highway 1 in five minutes. Urgent as they were, they tried not to hit the civilians.

"_All units respond; this is an emergency situation!_" the dispatcher called out.

From the RCMP also came a bulletproof command vehicle (which was really a modified carrier complete with computers) who would command the operation from the inside. Inside this vehicle was Stevenston and a command crew.

Surprisingly, it was only the Vancouver Police who did not use their sirens at all (just lights, no sound). But the number of police who were travelling together was enough for the public to get a clear message of what was going on (fourteen Crown Victoria police cars and eight armored VPD carriers were travelling over 80 km down Hastings Street. As a security measure for everyone, Stevenston ensured that ERT snipers would be hidden in the Harbour Centre overlooking the port. No chances would be taken.

At Port Vancouver, the VPD had set up another roadblock. No one was to get in. The ERT and Stevenston were to arrive soon, it was just a matter of hope that the GSI wouldn't attack.

Three minutes later, more VPD had arrived to close the Port's perimeter.

Seven minutes later, the ERT, Stevenston's command team arrived, followed by extra RCMP Crown Victoria cars, including Kellyn.

Commissioner Stevenston was talking through central, "This is Stevenston. All non-ERT units take up positions and form a perimeter, ERT on immediate stand-by. I want patrol cars lined up as barriers according to their unit line."

The command crew was monitoring what was going on outside by cameras, computers, and hidden wired BlackBerry's given to a handful of ERT members.

The RCMP's Emergency Response Team had disembarked immediately upon arrival. They were all dressed in black flame-resistant jackets and combat vests with tracers linked to the command vehicle outside and Mk6 helmets complete with night vision. One from each unit of the ERT had a Remington model 870 shotgun that had a purpose for clearing the Port's inside. Everyone else was armed with grenades, one S&W 5906 handgun, and their primary weapon favorite: the Heckler and Koch MP5 sub-machine gun.

"_This is ERT. Awaiting orders to go._"

"You are clear to attack," ordered Stevenston.

Right when the first two ERT units blasted opens the front doors of the port's warehouse (with the shotgun!). There was silence. They slowly moved inside, a little deeper at a time.

Suddenly, a roar of gunfire erupted from all the containers, buildings and more. The ERT quickly split for cover, but out of nowhere one member had been shot in the leg.

"Sniper spotted on 3'o clock!" yelled an ERT officer as three other officers lifted their comrade away.

"This is command crew; the sniper is spotted on the east balcony in downtown. Snipers, take him out! But don't kill him! Go! Go! Go!"

It took a few seconds to find the sniper. Then the ERT snipers found him. Two gunshots, inaudible from the ground, hit the GSI sniper and his body went limp. But it appeared that he deliberately launched himself over the balcony and he plummeted to the ground. He would never be seen again.

The ERT were being pushed back really hard. An officer got down and yelled "This is ERT, we are suffering major casualties and require direct backup. We need cover fire! A-SAP!"

But it wasn't easy or hard for the RCMP to move in. Two of the backup lines, which included Kellyn and Kate, and another ERT unit moved in to back up the first.

Kellyn drew out his 9mm. Kate did the same and fired shots carefully.

There was nothing but solid shooting for the next five minutes. To the ERT is seemed a lot longer than that, they continued to fire away their machine guns.

Just then, a GSI agent threw a grenade to the ground in front of Kellyn and Kate. An ERT officer yelled, "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

Kellyn jumped away before the grenade hit the ground with a small blast.

Patting the sand off him, he was under fire again. He picked up his 9mm, and continued to attack.

* * *

A short time passed after ERT teams had managed to gain a little ground. But again they came under heavy fire, Kellyn kicked over a stack of empty oil drums and they began rolling toward the GSI attackers. The agents jumped over the drums with great effort, seeing that they had so many weapons on. The ERT took advantage of this distraction and opened fire on the GSI's arms and legs, immobilizing them.

But then a hailstorm of automatic gunfire came from the other side of the warehouse. Another few teams of GSI agents had arrived to pressure the police, but the ERT saw something much worse.

"ERT: we've spotted multiple machine gun turrets on the other side! We need big guns to take them out!"

Kellyn shouted for Kate to take cover, but in the heat of the moment he realized that Kate wasn't even there. _No!_ He panicked. _Where did she go?_

Kellyn took notice of a figure that went through a side door, and out of curiosity and panic, he rushed to follow him.

Then he found himself in a lone, grey corridor. He heard the door click right behind him. He was trapped.

* * *

Kate woke up to find herself in a white room. Just a few minutes ago she jumped to avoid a grenade. Next thing she knew her face had been covered with a cloth full of sleeping gas. Worse yet, her 9mm were missing and she was tied up. A GSI agent, holding a needle, jabbed Kate's arm and began to take blood out of her. Kate tried to scream, but she realized that her mouth was covered too…

* * *

Outside, the command crew was having a problem. It was bad enough that they were beginning to stress themselves out.

"What's going on?" Stevenston gently asked.

"We have a communications problem sir. We can locate the ERT inside thanks to their tracers. But somehow the constables with them can't make contact with us. It's like a jammer sir!"

_Hmm... That is a problem,_ noted Stevenston.

* * *

Kellyn walked cautiously, he knew the GSI must have had this corridor monitored. The infrared beam he narrowly passed explained it all. He also heard an irregular hum coming from a door three corridors away. He didn't know where Kate was, he might as well check on what's happening.

When he got there Kellyn found that the door was sealed, labeled BIO-HAZARD. AUTHORISED ACCESS ONLY. It had five coded locks on it. Kellyn knew he was onto something. He had to get the RCMP to know. Then he could get out.

But what he didn't know was that he walked onto a GSI floor sensor. Without knowing, Kellyn had set off a silent alarm.

"This is M3. Come on!" Kellyn whispered urgently into his link. There was no response, not even a sound.

"They are not going to hear you," said a smooth voice "No one will."

Kellyn jolted his head to the right. Standing right there, in a black coat, a headband and slick black hair with a purple tint, was the GSI's leader: Vulture.

As fast as a ninja, Vulture drew out his twin 10mm's and pointed both of them at Kellyn. He gave a smile as he said. "You're going to do as I say, Fiore."

"H-how do you know me...?" Kellyn was shaking, but steadily rested his hand on his 9mm.

"What do you mean?!" Vulture was laughing menacingly, "Even though you, Kellyn Fiore, haven't noticed; you've been made an enemy of me! All the GSI in Vancouver have become your enemies now! You're not safe–"

"Of course I am," Kellyn said confidently. "CSIS figured you'd have called back all your men to defend the port. I'll be fine when we've won."

Kellyn pulled out his 9mm, and pointed it at Vulture. "All I ask of you is to turn yourself in, or it will be me who is putting you under arrest Vulture."

"Oh, do you think I'm scared of a little 9mm?" Vulture sneered. "I applaud your confidence, Fiore," he fired a shot from each of his guns. Kellyn rolled to dodge both shots and by instinct fired his own. It managed to separate Vulture from one of his guns, but didn't do as much as wounding him. Vulture was fine.

"I will allow you to kill me here and now, Fiore. But first, let's make an agreement..." he snapped his fingers with his free hand.

Kellyn heard footsteps coming from a different corridor. He glimpsed and stared at who it was. There were two GSI agents, armed with a handgun each. A third agent was behind them dragging a body tied up to its wrists and ankles. It was Kate.

"Kellyn!" Kate shouted. Kellyn rushed toward her but a gunshot fired from an agent stopped him in his tracks.

Vulture pointed his other gun at Kellyn. "I'll say it again: you are going to do as I say, Fiore."

"What if I don't...?" Kellyn asked as dread began to envelop him.

"I'll tell you this," Vulture laughed as Kate was dragged away to another room. Her eyes met Kellyn's. They were full of tears.

"I know quite a bit about you Kellyn. You couldn't stand the killing of innocent people, especially your loved ones."

"You have known that girl, Kate Periphery, for over ten years ever since you were little children. Throughout your times in school you started to have special feelings for her, to care for her. Imagine what I could do now, by snapping my fingers. It will not only put a bullet through Kate's head, it will destroy you."

Kellyn felt hope slipping away from him, and the same time he was feeling tired.

"I'll do anything... stop..." Kellyn wearily said.

"You're doing what I want, Fiore."

"She had nothing to do with this."

"What? Of course she might. But you, Kellyn... you've become too much of a problem to the GSI, it ends here," he held up two fingers, they were touching his thumb.

"NO! Don't..." Kellyn's eyes began to water, "She's…!"

But he couldn't manage a word, and Vulture made a triumph face, "Is she that important to you?"

"More than anything," Kellyn wept.

"Show me how important," at this Vulture watched with interest.

Kellyn wasn't sure how to react to what Vulture was asking for, as he was on the brink of losing his co-worker, his classmate, and most importantly, his best friend. But how to show how much he cared for Kate... he had but one choice.

Kellyn tossed his 9mm to the ground in front of Vulture and got down on one knee. Kneeling toward Vulture, head down, he pleaded "Please..."

Vulture was adamant. He gave a humorless smile and quietly said to Kellyn, "So, you really do care for her... I'll say it's possible."

Kellyn was still on one knee, but looked at Vulture's eyes.

* * *

Kate saw the vials of blood with the GSI agent, he was holding a remote on one hand, and a gun in the other. And on a TV screen she was watching Kellyn kneeling down in front of Vulture.

"Listen to your boyfriend plead for your life," said the agent, "I've got one gun right here, ready to fire when Vulture gives the command."

"You wouldn't!" Kate winced, "You can't do this to me! You can't do this to Kellyn either! Do you know what would happen to him?"

"I don't think you'll want to find out," the agent sneered, as he pointed the gun to Kate's head.

* * *

"The answer is no," at that Vulture snapped his fingers.

Then Kellyn heard a gunshot. He jumped up, looked where it had come from, and saw that the room where Kate had just gone into now had blood spilling under its door. For what Kellyn knew, Kate was gone.

Kellyn's sorrow lost its control entirely and afflicted him heavily. He continued to kneel there, putting his hands on his knee, bowed down his head and cried as much as he could. Nothing could have ever prepared him for this.

Vulture gave an insane laugh, and said to the other GSI agents. "Take him away."

Kellyn was seized, but he didn't even try to resist, let alone notice where he was being taken. The only thing he thought of was his friend, who had disappeared from him. "_Kate..._" he thought.

Then without warning Kellyn was smashed in the back by something hard. He whipped around just in time to see an agent holding a steel block. The hit had knocked the wind out of him. Kellyn started to feel dizzy, and then he fainted.


	5. Downtown Raid

_**Chapter five**_

Outside, the ERT was facing a formidable force of opponents. Were it not for Sergeant Michelle Jansen's 7th line of backup they probably would have lost a lot more officers than expected.

Being in the back lines outside of course meant Sergeant Jansen could avoid gunfire easily too. Her gun in hand but barely used it, because what she was thinking of was how Kellyn and Kate were doing inside.

In an instant, the GSI stopped firing. Sergeant Jansen, aware of what was happening, slowly glanced at the GSI position.

"This is the GSI leader Vulture," said a voice through a megaphone, "RCMP, you should acknowledge is that we have captured two officers of yours: and they look extremely young for officers. If you choose to continue shooting, they will die. Here's the deal: I will command my agents to stand down. Allow us to escape, and they will leave us unharmed."

Vulture knew he was telling only part of the truth. The GSI had indeed stopped, but once they had left, Sebring Six would explode at his touch. Vancouver would be gone, and Kellyn with it.

Sergeant Jansen heard this, and she went straight to Stevenston's command vehicle.

"I'm not going to just stand around Stevenston!" she said angrily.

"Sergeant Jansen. Listen–"

"I am NOT listening! We have Kellyn's and Kate's lives at stake!"

"What do you intend to do?" Stevenston asked casually.

Sergeant Jansen opened her mouth, but said nothing. Stevenston sighed.

"I know you care for them very much. I do too. If you have any ideas, I'd be happy to hear them."

Jansen calmed down, took a deep breath, and spoke. "I think it'd be the time to infiltrate their base. If there are any ventilation ducts inside the port, it's possible to slip past the GSI from the outside. I highly doubt they would have them monitored."

"It's because the ducts are narrow. Anyone would find it uncomfortable to even breathe in them," Stevenston pointed out.

"Uh, EXCUSE ME?" Jansen was annoyed. "I've had enough experience with the police to know how uncomfortable it would be. Plus, I might be slim enough to crawl into the ducts EA-SI-LY!"

Stevenston, not to mention the command crew, was left speechless for a few moments. A member coughed.

"Well, since you put it that way..." said Stevenston. "Be careful. Forgive me, Michelle."

Jansen looked at him with a big smile. "I'll do my best! Sir!"

So outside, Sergeant Jansen snuck around to find one of many vent ducts in the port building. Fortunately for her, the vents were a lot wider than she expected. That meant less cramping and more breathing space.

"Okay," Jansen took a breath. "Here we go."

* * *

Kellyn was tossed into a blank white room. It was only several minutes before he became conscious entirely.

_He dreamed badly. Kellyn could only remember the last few moments before Kate's death, before he heard the gunshot, before he saw Kate's blood spilling on the floor, and before she looked at him with tears…_

"Wake up sleepyhead! You can't sleep there all day!"

Kellyn looked up with eyes wide open. Kneeling in front of him was a girl with blue eyes, hair tied back into two super-spiky pigtails, and two green earrings. It was none other than Kate.

"Whoa! No way! You can't be. Kate?" Kellyn was astonished. Kate didn't look injured at all. In fact, she appeared not to have any wounds either.

"Kellyn... looks like you're awake at last!" said Kate.

Kellyn gave a grin. But another question seemed to stick out at him...

"Wait a minute. I thought you died!" Kellyn cried, with his eyes as big as dinner plates.

Now Kate was smiling, but she seemed a little taken back too.

"I thought I was going to die too..." Kate shivered. "But they had other plans in mind. They seemed to enjoy torturing you a lot more because– "she was cut off.

"What?" Kellyn steadily asked.

Kate could still see some tears trickling down Kellyn's face. So she did the one thing that made sense.

"Well, maybe it's because they hate you and I a lot. We took out one of their main transports around Vancouver! Plus...you're a boy," she added quickly, hoping he wouldn't notice.

"WHAT? What's that supposed to mean?!" It was as if Kellyn was back to normal again. This time he was the one being irritated.

"Well... you know... guys don't usually attack girls you know."

"Still! That doesn't make a difference! I don't deserve to be beaten up like this!" Kellyn was frustrated.

"But then, who was the one who stopped my death ten minutes earlier?" Kate said softly.

Kellyn blinked. "Well, uh, who was it...?" Kellyn wondered, but Kate wasn't fooled.

"You! Of course!" Kate said with a loud voice. "That's why you're a boy and I'm a girl!"

Kellyn was about to protest when Kate said "O-kay conversation's done!"

It took the next ten minutes to settle before Kellyn spoke up again.

"Wait... Kate. How did you... 'die'?" Kellyn asked out of confusion.

"I didn't die!" but then Kate swallowed. She looked a little bit scared when Kellyn asked this question, as if she was trying to describe what actually happened without having to put Kellyn in a state of revenge. After a moment, she decided to tell the truth.

"When we were separated, they took about four blood samples from me. Then they let me watch Vulture tormenting you on a screen. I tried to scream but they had my mouth gagged. When they saw Vulture snap his fingers, then..."

"What?" Kellyn was patient.

She breathed. "One agent broke the samples in front of the door, the other agent shot a blank at me but I already fainted at that point."

Kate finished. She looked at Kellyn, and to her surprise he looked completely fine, with no hint of vengeance. On the contrary, he was a bit relieved. He nodded his head. "I understand."

"That's it?"

"You want a longer answer?"

"Of course not!"

It was pretty cold in there. The twosome's jackets were removed.

The door opened. It was Vulture who entered the room.

"Glad you could make it here tonight," said Vulture. "I will be happy to tell you that your ERT members have been successfully pushed back outside."

If either Kellyn or Kate was angry they could have stood up to attack Vulture. But they're wrists were tied up. And Vulture had his hands near both his guns.

"We've still got aerial support!" Kellyn angrily said.

"Whatever, we've got a rocket ready just for your helicopter..."

Kate hid a smile. What Vulture and the GSI didn't know was that multiple helicopters loaded with ERT were on their way toward Port Vancouver.

"But even if we've got the rocket ready," Vulture continued, "They will be too late to stop us by the time we've done the job."

"What job?" Kellyn was worried.

"I'll take it from the top..." Vulture began, "A long time ago, we the GSI have been continually chased by the American and British authorities around the world. We raid as many vulnerable countries as we can find, smuggling whatever they consider valuable. Then we destroy a bit of a target city. We succeeded raids in Hong Kong; where we blew an entire city block near Victoria Harbour. Moscow; we smuggled some very good supplies there, plus a blast outside the capital. Bangkok; we annihilated two major highways with a terrorist blast, and basically all of Europe and America."

"In effect, we become the world's terrorist black market."

Kellyn raised his eyebrows, but said nothing and waited for Vulture to continue.

"Successful as we were, our first failure came by attacking the American Embassy in Britain, when the SAS burst in and put us on the run."

"Second, we were raiding the Canadian Embassy in Denmark when, of course, the Danes killed some of us."

"Third failure, we were smuggling goods out of Miami to other parts of the world. The CIA noticed and we were chased out. But each of us managed to escape alive."

"After Miami, I had an idea: Canada had to rely on Denmark security to protect them. What would it be like if Canada itself was attacked too? I picked out Vancouver to be our target. This city is so rich! It has a fine reputation! And the security here is quite dim to see what we were up to. Or so I thought two nights ago."

"That night, we were loading a nuclear weapons-grade bomb codenamed Sebring Six to Vancouver. It was quite unfortunate that one policeman was investigating our actions."

Kate worked it out in a split second, "You killed our superintendent!"

"I assure you, Miss Periphery, I didn't kill him. But I won't deny I gave the order to."

"Coward," Kellyn scowled, "Too much killing finally set you off?"

Vulture wasn't taunted, "You talk pretty fast, Kellyn. You're lucky I want to keep you alive. For now."

"But even so, if the ERT somehow miraculously broke through to disable Sebring Six, that wouldn't be enough..."

Kate suddenly became anxious, and waited for the worst.

"We've smuggled another nuclear bomb inside one of Shangri-La's hotel rooms. When Sebring Six succeeds; the backup bomb will disappear with the explosion that will engulf everything from Horseshoe Bay to Surrey. Should Sebring Six fail; the backup will ensure Vancouver's destruction. Nevertheless, the explosion will reach out to BC Place."

"You're insane!" Kate yelled angrily, "You can't kill off an entire city! Do you know how many lives you'll take?!"

"Living or not," Vulture spoke sternly, "It makes no difference to the GSI, at the very least we can shorten the world's population."

Kellyn made a mental note to contact the RCMP about the second bomb. The stakes had become even higher now.

Vulture moved to the door and opened it, "I don't get why teens like you would join the RCMP. But you're not getting out of here. You're tied up and this door is locked. Don't try any tricks! Why bother?"

Then he left them.

After the door closed, Kate moved a little closer to Kellyn, as she had something really significant she wanted to discuss with him.

"Uh... Kellyn?" Kate asked with a strange tone.

Kellyn was slightly disturbed, Kate usually didn't sound like this every day. He wondered if she was fine, so he turned to face her.

"Are you okay, Kate? 'Cause it sounds like you don't," Kellyn uttered.

Kate ignored him. Instead, she moved closer to Kellyn until they were a metre away from each other.

"Kellyn..." Kate muttered.

Kellyn looked at Kate as though worried about her sanity.

"Kellyn, you were being recorded when you begged for my life."

At this, Kellyn paid extra attention to Kate. She couldn't have...

"A-and I've got a question, I thought of it the s-second you f-fell on your knee. I-I hope you won't mind," Kate stammered, her face was starting to blush.

"What?" Kellyn asked. What was Kate trying to ask?

Kate was still blushing. She turned around, took a few slow breaths, and turned back to look at Kellyn in the eye.

"Kellyn... from the way I saw you begging..." she began.

Kellyn remained silent. But in his mind the memory was shifting back, the words he said... the words describing how he felt about Kate...

"_Is she that special to you?" Vulture's voice echoed._

"_You can't imagine how," Kellyn's voice echoed back._

"_Show me how special."_

Kate was still looking at Kellyn, "Do I really mean that much to you? Or is it because you like–" she suddenly became quiet as she broke off at the last few words.

The twosome's eyes, both of them, locked. Kate blushed again and turned away. Kellyn turned his head away from her. No way... was he actually blushing himself?

"Never mind," Kate dismissed quickly, but happily.

The twosome did not look at each other for the next while, but they were both wearing smiles.

* * *

Meanwhile, not far away where the chaotic battle the ERT and GSI were engaging, Sergeant Jansen was busy crawling through the vent ducts, trying to find an undetected path in. Being slim, she smoothly slipped through the ducts with ease. The preposterous part was that the ducts were wider and bigger than the police had predicted.

However, that didn't mean she could breathe the entire time. Once or twice in a while she'd have to risk peeking through a wire grille to catch some air. At the very least she hadn't been sighted once.

Now Jansen came across the next grille to take her next breather, on her left she spotted one sleeping GSI agent standing guard outside a white door with no windows. The door read "DETAINED AND A HAZARD TO ALL" _Detained..._ Jansen thought, that meant the GSI were holding prisoners. As a police sergeant, it was up to her to rescue captives. Then again, the sign said it was a hazard. What choice should Sergeant Jansen make? To possibly put her life at risk or to rescue others who could be a threat?

But she was an RCMP officer, and she always remained loyal to her duty. She found the duct leading to the room and turned left.

* * *

Back at the main part of Port Vancouver, reinforcements for the ERT had arrived hastily. The RCMP helicopters, filled with ERT officers, acted as gunships. They swarmed around and with their firepower tore down the gun turrets without as much as a struggle. The ERT was finally gaining ground, with the VPD's backup of course.

Still, they had no idea of the threat they were about to hear.

* * *

Kellyn and Kate were silent. Too silent. Silent to the point that under normal circumstances either one of them would start to go insane.

There was no chance of that happening. Kate had just said a few tiny words that made her reconsider what to say next. Her mind was blank.

Kellyn was taking a little rest. His eyes tired not only from work, but from shock. Shock that made him think Kate was gone for good. _I guess sleeping should shake it off a little bit..._ he dozed off.

Kate watched Kellyn sleep away. He looked so tired, it even made her tired. Kate decided to rest too. She closed her eyes. Unlike Kellyn though, she didn't doze off. She instead decided to keep on the alert. Just in case a GSI agent or anyone else might try to take them.

After what seemed like hours (though it was actually ten minutes!), Kellyn woke up. Kate seemed relieved that he was looking better.

"Still sleepy?" Kate asked.

"Not so much now."

"Very good. Now I've got one more question for you."

"Give me a break," Kellyn protested, "Suppose I don't want to?"

"Just do it," Kate said. Impatient and irritable as she was, she was feeling nervous.

"And what if I'm still tired?"

Kate sighed, "Forget it then." She turned back, but she knew Kellyn...

"No, no! Wait! What is it?" Kellyn said.

Kate knew Kellyn too well that he would have wanted to know the question anyway.

Her heart was pounding loudly at this point while she took a deep breath. She looked at Kellyn in the eye and said. "Do you love me?"

Kellyn stared.

"Oh, and with respect to Melodee," Kate added. "I'm talking about a romantic love. The Christian one can wait."

Kellyn stared again. This was going to be hard to answer now (thanks to Melodee!).

"What kind of question is that?" he said with an expression of astonishment.

"Answer the question," Kate's impatience was growing.

"Possibly, I suppose," Kellyn said. He didn't smile, but this was deliberate. Just so Kellyn didn't give anything away. "The Christian love is a one for sure."

Kate smiled with pleasure. Kellyn didn't give a direct answer to her question, and then he tried to change the subject, so he must really like her. She would have to wait for him to admit it one day. But they were still co-workers and friends; at least they still had that.

Kellyn alone felt very awkward. He didn't say anything to allow Kate to continue pressurising him to talk about his personal feelings, nor did he want to harm Kate emotionally. For the better: it was wiser not to say too much. But the truth was... he really liked her.

Seconds passed before the vent grille above them was slowly opening.

Kellyn and Kate's wrists were still tied up. But their ankles weren't. They stood up, thinking _What now?_

And the legs that were slowly climbing down from the vent were followed by what the twosome recognized as an RCMP vest. Then Sergeant Michelle Jansen landed on the floor feet first.

"Sergeant Jansen!" Kellyn and Kate shouted in relief.

"Shh! Shh! Not so loud! There's a sleeping guard outside!" Jansen spoke softly and urgently.

"Right," Kellyn agreed.

As Sergeant Jansen began to untie their wrists Kate asked. "How did you get here?"

Jansen's face darkened, "I convinced Stevenston to let me slip into the vents. Considering the fact that he couldn't see that a slim one like me could get into the vents with no problem..."

Kate laughed while Jansen began to untie Kellyn's wrists. _Oh, Jansen's problems will never get old._

"By the way, you guys, what was that you were talking about love?"

"Nothing," Kellyn and Kate said in unison. Jansen grinned. That was all she needed to know.

"Well, I have to leave soon," Jansen said, "The GSI will kill all of us if anyone finds out I'm in."

"What do we do now?" Kate asked now that Kellyn was freed.

"First, I'm going to climb back into the vent to unlock your door. After that, I'm going back outside to report. You can't come with me because you're too–" (Kate raised an eyebrow at this.) "Never mind," Jansen finished.

"Okay let's do this," Kellyn put his fingers together and palms open underneath the vent and kneeled. "Whenever you're ready, Sergeant."

Jansen gave a little distance and dashed to Kellyn. Stepping with one foot on Kellyn's hands, Kellyn using momentum gave Jansen's jump a boosted lift. Jansen climbed back into the vent and said, "Wait right here." Kellyn nodded.

Minutes later, Jansen opened the door, with the guarding agent there knocked out.

"All your gear is in the room to the right. Be careful," Jansen pointed.

"We're going to shut down the jammer first," Kellyn said, "Then we can wait for the other guys to shut down the bomb."

"Kellyn, that's not smart!" Kate interjected, "You've got an entire city's lives on the line! The bomb has to come first!"

"Fine, the bomb first, then the jammer," Kellyn accepted.

"Good," said Jansen, "Contact the command crew and Stevenston when the jammer's down."

That gave Kellyn a reminder of something… and then he remembered, "Sergeant Jansen! The GSI's got a backup bomb in downtown Shangri-La's hotel rooms! Hear me? It's just the fifteen stories of the hotel! You've got to get the ERT there to defuse it!"

"What?!" Jansen was stunned. "Okay, I'll get there as soon as I can!"

Then Kellyn gave Jansen another lift into the vent, and after Jansen was safely hidden, he followed Kate to grab their gear, careful not to alert any GSI agent who might be passing by. After that, they locked their prison door.

_Stay safe_, Jansen thought as she crawled through the vent.

* * *

They approached the room Jansen told them to go to and peeked into the room. They heard voices.

"How long's the countdown?" said a GSI agent.

"About an hour," said another. "The bomb should give us enough time to escape."

"What about the backup?"

"When all else fails," the other agent said. "Three hours. Tops."

"Then what about... ARGH!"

The two agents were shot in the legs with darts in silence. Normally, with poison, the darts would have killed them in seconds. Fortunately for the agents, it was Kellyn who was shooting them. The darts he fired were loaded with knockout draughts. The GSI agents fell to the ground unconscious.

"Nice of you to find a silencer," Kellyn directed to Kate.

"No problem," Kate said. "Now let's go grab our gear."

They moved to the nearest table in the room. Laid on the table were their dispatch links, vests, handcuffs, 9mm's and their RCMP jackets (it's early spring! That was good!) They quickly put on their gear and loaded up their weapons.

"So what now?" Kate said as Kellyn pulled the trigger on his gun.

"We look for the bomb without anyone noticing."

"Do you know where to go?"

"If I recognise the surroundings, maybe."

"Hope so. We have to move fast," Kate said, looking around for anything else.

"Let's lock the door first," Kellyn grabbed the GSI agent's card key, exited the room carefully, and locked the door.

"We better hold onto that," Kate whispered.

"Of course," Kellyn felt a little better as he slipped the card into his pocket.

The twosome moved swiftly. Stopping at every corner they found just to peek at what could be creeping around. At about three hallways, they nearly ran into GSI agents. So they ducked away at nearby tables. If nothing else they were going to have to knock out the agents. But it was better not to put up a struggle. Well, at least the internal alarm hadn't been set off thanks to the battle outside.

Avoiding as many surveillance cameras as possible, Kellyn tried to look for the biohazard room he saw in the first place. That had to be the room they were looking for. After dashing up a flight of stairs, avoiding more armed GSI agents along the way, they found it.

"That's the room, the bomb has to be in there," Kellyn pointed out.

He pulled out the card key to the room, and walked towards the door.

* * *

Outside, Sergeant Jansen emerged from the ventilation duct she had crawled through. Dusting herself off, she hurried toward the command vehicle.

Jansen signaled the VPD officers standing guard. Giving Jansen a nod, they let her in.

"Stevenston, sir! We have a problem!"

"Be brief, Sergeant," Stevenston's voice was more serious than normal.

"We need to divert at least two ERT units to somewhere else!"

"WHAT? Why?!" Stevenston stood up and picked up his dispatch link.

"Sebring Six has been activated in the port! But we've got Fiore and Periphery defusing it from the inside! But the GSI's got a backup bomb in Shangri-La! It's going to explode if their first bomb fails!"

Stevenston took a moment for this to sink in, and then he remembered that the jammer was still activated, "Go tell them, double time!"

Jansen ran outside and shouted, "ERT units! Follow me!"

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the bomb room, Kellyn had unlocked the door to the room containing Sebring Six. He could hear the familiar hum coming from the bomb. Finally, the twosome saw it.

Sebring Six, the weapons-grade nuclear bomb developed by American nuclear scientists, smuggled from the Atlantic courtesy of the GSI, was standing in front of the twosome's eyes. It was a metallic black explosive that stood two metres high. Angular patterns covering this bomb made its discretion the equivalent of a stealth fighter. Smuggled and towed by a submarine, the bomb had been entirely invisible. Now it was right there, with a computer right beside it and (so typical, Kate thought) an active countdown timer right beside it.

Kellyn walked carefully to avoid any traps. But Kate simply advanced to the bomb. When they approached the bomb they, without a need for talk, examined the computer carefully. Checking and rechecking for anything remotely suspicious. But, accurate as they were, there was nothing. Kate rapidly pressed a few keys, and hit the ENTER button.

"Hope this works," Kate said.

"We've taken all precautions," Kellyn said. "There isn't a thing we left out."

The countdown timer was in the process of stopping, with a bar labeled '5% until shutdown'. Very soon, not a single one in Vancouver would die.

**Five minutes later…**

Kellyn pondered for a while as the bomb was shutting down. The bar had reached 33% by now. But something told Kellyn that they had left something out. He waited seven more minutes before he spoke to Kate again.

"Kate, are you sure we didn't leave anything out?"

"Don't be silly, Kellyn. What could we have missed?" she said as it hit 67%.

Then a particularly loud alarm, the same as an air raid horn, burst off.

Kellyn groaned. _Oh. How could we have forgotten about the alarm?_

_**Chapter five B: Raiding Against the Clock**_

While Kellyn and Kate were in the process of dismantling Sebring Six, Sergeant Michelle Jansen was leading two ERT units to the tallest structure in downtown Vancouver: the Shangri-La hotel.

They came to the building by two RCMP cruisers and, with a civilian's permission, a Mercedes Benz C-Class which Sergeant Jansen used to lead the units.

During Jansen's drive, she recalled that memory.

* * *

_Flashback: Six minutes ago, at Port Vancouver._

_ The roadblock at Port Vancouver was still active. The two ERT units had gotten into the cruisers, but there was no space for her to squeeze into. She spotted the closest car to her; a white Mercedes Benz parked on the side of the road (the driver was gapping at the scene in amazement)._

_ Jansen ran quickly to the driver._

_ "I'll need to use your car,"_

_ "What for?"_

_ "The outcome of Vancouver may depend on it."_

_ "I will need some reward."_

_ Jansen was quite fed up, especially with a countdown that could eventually destroy the city if they hadn't moved already._

_ "TURN OVER YOUR KEYS! IN THE NAME OF THE LAW!" Jansen shrieked._

_ "Okay, okay. Fine," the driver reluctantly turned over his keys._

_ Jansen quickly got in and started the engines. She opened the window and spoke to the driver in a calm voice, "If your car does get destroyed, we'll buy you a new one. No excuses. No complaints."_

* * *

Now the RCMP cruisers, led by Sergeant Jansen, were speeding down West Georgia Street to the front of Shangri-La. They all got out and burst into the building, all armed.

Jansen was given command over the ERT units present on Chief Superintendent Stevenston's authority, and spoke over her link and dispatch, "New priority! Another bomb suspected in Shangri-La! Situation considered being high risk."

She walked over to the front desk and explained what was going on.

"RCMP," she flashed out her identity card.

"What is the meaning of this?" Jansen could tell that the receptionist was frustrated.

"Try not to speak too much, okay?"

The front desk, all of it, was silent.

"We have suspicion that an active nuclear explosive has been smuggled into one of your hotel rooms and we request keys to search every floor."

"Don't you have a search warrant?"

"It's too late for that! We only heard the news ten minutes ago!"

The front desk looked pretty shocked. Another receptionist pulled out four keys.

"Here are half of the master keys, return them when you're done."

Jansen took them with a quick nod, and turned back to the ERT.

"Okay. Priority One: evacuating the building of people should be our first concern."

An ERT officer reached for the fire alarm and after nodding at the receptionist pulled it down.

The intense ringing of the fire alarm blasted through the rooms of the building. The regular security officers helped escort all the people outside within ten minutes. When that was finished, Jansen faced the ERT once again.

"Priority two: we'll need to narrow down how they would be hiding a bomb capable of such destruction. We are very certain that it's in one of the fifteen stories of the hotel."

An ERT member spoke up. "The bomb would have to be pretty big. They couldn't just stuff it in a closet. But the bathrooms would need to be checked."

"Oh, and the event of a gunfight with the GSI would be likely, radio in to Sergeant Jansen when we've found them."

"Divide yourselves up into teams of four and I'll be giving out keys to each one," Jansen was panicking in spite that her face was expressing a would-be calm.

"Teams A, B, C, and S," Jansen counted, "Perfect."

She threw the keys to each one and yelled, "GO! GO! GO!"

The ERT units began the search. Teams A and S took the stairs while B and C took the elevator.

"This is Team A. We are searching floors one to four."

"Team S is searching with Team A as we speak."

"Teams C and B are searching rooms beginning with fifteen and below."

Sergeant Jansen was listening in the lobby for anything until a VPD officer asked her to help evacuate the lobby. First she turned to the receptionist.

"Let me know if anything shows on the security cameras."

The receptionist nodded back in response.

Jansen, with two VPD officers, helped guide the remaining civilians away from the hotel.

"Okay, everyone: remain calm and please exit the building. ASAP!"

* * *

With the cooperative teamwork of four ERT units, the searching of eight floors (1 to 4 and 12 to 15) took half an hour. The procedure was simple: open the door let and two members guard the door while the others conduct a twenty second search of the room, then leave and move down the hallway.

Sergeant Jansen's link was called again.

"This is ERT Team S and A. We are moving in to level five."

"B and C are searching the eleventh floor."

Jansen began to panic. What if they didn't place the bomb in Shangri-La? What if Kellyn and Kate had lied to her? She pushed that thought away.

* * *

The clock was ticking as the ERT teams wrapped up their searches to the next floor. ERT teams B and C moved into the tenth floor by stairs while S and A headed up the sixth floor.

At the tenth floor, the ERT reloaded their rifles just in case if the GSI popped up anywhere.

"Shh! Guys! Look over there!" whispered an ERT member.

The ERT teams B and C looked at his direction.

Right there, across to the end of hallway, were twenty men in black coats each armed with M16 rifles. It was none other than the GSI. In the night, with the blinds and curtains lowered, they had been entirely invisible. Since the ERT all wore gas masks, one member made a snap decision and rolled a tear gas grenade and a smoke grenade by the side of the wall. Another ERT member spoke into his link to contact the other ERT and Jansen.

"Sergeant Jansen. This is ERT teams B and C. The GSI are located on the tenth floor. We have engaged the enemy and are outgunned. Request backup."

"_ERT S and A are on the move by stairs. Hold the line against the GSI. Set up barriers or anything to protect you. Recommend use of fire against their legs. That'll stop them!_" Sergeant Jansen replied.

The ERT member then took his rifle, reloaded it, and with the rest of the team prepared to charge into any oncoming GSI agents.

Sure enough, an explosion of smokescreens and deadly tear gas filled the entire corridor, followed by screams of pain. That was the ERT's cue to appear and either knock down the GSI agents or shoot immediately for the legs.

Team B charged into the smoke and used their MP5's to knock down any GSI agent they could find. When the smoke was starting to clear, they quickly retreated back to Team C.

The nine remaining GSI agents did not hesitate to open fire on the ERT. Very soon, their M16 rifles gunned down two members of the ERT. Four others rushed to drag them away from the deadly gunfire while Team C attempted to slow the GSI in their tracks using their MP5's (If you can't remember the weapons list, refer back to Chapter four if needed). The GSI agents prepared to advance onto the weary ERT units.

But that was before a grenade, a real one, was thrown into their midst.

An explosion rocked in front of the ERT's eyes and the GSI were thrown to the ground unconscious. Curious where the grenade had come from, they all turned their heads.

From the fire exit door was ERT teams S and A, all with their rifles ready.

"You doing fine there?" said the member from the S team.

"We suffered two casualties. Call in medics to the lobby."

"I'll get two members to accompany to the elevator," at that he motioned two other S members to the wounded men.

Now the ERT took up their positions surrounding the door and the shotgun holder from each unit approached the hotel room door. With the suspected bomb inside, it would be smart to blast open the door than to unlock it.

"Lock and load," said the shotgun holders.

They pumped their shotguns and fired at the door hinge.

The door was blasted apart. Three ERT members stormed inside to secure the area while other ERT members slowly moved in to locate the bomb.

"Here it is!" shouted a member from the S team.

The weapon, from what Sergeant Jansen had told them, was capable of destroying at least half of downtown. The ERT, with their experience of high-risk situations, began to unpack their defuse kits.

"This bomb's still has plenty of time on the clock."

"Well, Sebring Six hasn't exploded, has it?"

They immediately got to work. No unnecessary mistakes, not now.

* * *

At the lobby, Sergeant Jansen hadn't heard from the ERT teams for more than eighteen minutes. She was sitting on a sofa in the lobby gathered with other leading officers discussing their next possible moves in Shangri-La.

_Everything seems to be going fine. I just hope the ERT's okay._

Her link and dispatch called, and all the officers in lobby listened anxiously.

"_This is the S team speaking on behalf of all ERT present up here... we did it! The bomb has been successfully defused and the GSI agents around the vicinity are in custody! This thing is over!_"

There was still some silence in the lobby, and then it broke into a triumphant cheer. The leading officers shook hands with each other and Sergeant Jansen giving words of congratulation.

Sergeant Jansen was very pleased to hear the news herself, she turned on her link and spoke. "That's excellent news. All units stand down."

She motioned to a nearby constable and said to him, "Do me a favour and get that Mercedes over there to its proper owner please." Then she got into a waiting police car and sped toward Port Vancouver with a unit of the ERT.

* * *

**Thanks for reading up to here! More to come!**


	6. Kellyn: What Matters Most

_**Chapter six**_

Inside Stevenston's command vehicle, the crew attempted several times to communicate with the officers in an effort to break through the jammer. But so far it was ineffective. In the command vehicle, being out of the jammer's range, Chief Superintendent Stevenston received a phone call from Sergeant Jansen.

"The bomb has been defused, Stevenston," Jansen said cheerfully.

Stevenston felt better at the sound of the news. He took a few quick notes and returned to his phone.

"Anything else to report?" he asked.

"We've arrested twenty GSI agents in the hotel. And..." she trailed off.

Stevenston gathered his patience and waited.

"Fiore and Periphery aren't in their cell anymore and are defusing the bomb as we speak. You can continue to attack now."

"Thank you Sergeant Jansen."

The ERT outside was well aware that an alarm horn was screeching from within the port building. When they heard Stevenston's yell to proceed, they did so.

"Move men, move!" shouted an ERT leader.

Shooting with their MP5 sub-machine guns while others lobbed grenades all over the port by surprise, the GSI agents were caught entirely off-guard. Many more were knocked out.

* * *

Back in the room containing Sebring Six, Kellyn and Kate were still aware of the alarm that was blasting through the room.

"What do we do now?" Kate asked desperately.

"We've got to hold off the GSI until the bomb is shut down," Kellyn said. "We've locked the door, but I don't think that'll be enough…"

He grabbed one side of a nearby table and motioned to Kate.

"Here, let's barricade the door and buy some time for the shutdown," he said.

"Right," Kate nodded and grabbed the other end of the table. They moved it and after that grabbed as many things they could to add on the barricade.

Afterwards, they watched the bomb enter its final stage of shutting down with the bar hitting 92%. 9mm's aimed against the newly barricaded door, Kellyn and Kate waited for any GSI agent who would soon break down the door.

"What happens after the bomb's done again?" asked Kate.

"We shut down the jammer, and then we're out of here," replied Kellyn.

Kate looked back at the computer and counted down the time.

"99%... 100! Kellyn! We can get out of here!" Kate exclaimed.

"Okay, just let me do one more thing..." Kellyn rushed to the computer, opened it, and for good measure ripped out the hard drive. _That'll fool them_.

What Kellyn didn't expect, though, was that the screen went blank. Naturally, he would expect the GSI to keep a fail-safe that would keep the countdown running even if they had ripped out the drive. But, it certainly showed that the bomb had been entirely disabled.

_So much for security..._ he thought. Then he and Kate looked for any plugs connected to the bomb and disabled them.

"Let's go and get rid of that jammer, we have to call for backup," he directed to an alternate exit on the wall (not the main one. Incredible that it wasn't noticed, isn't it?).

* * *

GSI agents went to the door leading to Sebring Six, but…

"Shoot! The door's stuck!" shouted one agent.

"Let me have a go," another said calmly. Since the door didn't budge, he aimed a few gunshots onto the door's bar, but still the door didn't move.

"It looks like someone's blocked off the door with a barricade in there…" he muttered. "Do you reckon we should blast the door away?"

The GSI decided that using explosives against a barricade wasn't worth it. So instead they chose to destroy the wall itself. They lined up plenty of C4 against the wall and blew it up in seconds.

Walking through debris and smoke and wearing black coats, the GSI checked on Sebring Six to see if it was all right. They looked at the computer and found that the power was switched off. When they tried to switch it on again they found that the countdown clock had no memory, so they desperately tried to repair it.

Vulture's voice came on their radios, "What's going on there?"

"Vulture! Someone's immobilised Sebring Six! The worst part is that we can't seem to repair the countdown!"

"Repair it! Most of you hold the line against the police!" Vulture shouted.

* * *

In the security office of the port building, where Vulture was safely hidden, was where all the security cameras relayed to. Vulture tossed one of his pistols up and down. Then he kicked over one of the tables in the room. Why?! Why did a devastating weapon like Sebring Six get stopped like that?! It couldn't have been one of the RCMP or VPD. He'd have heard them break in. It couldn't have been Kellyn or Kate. They were securely locked in their cell WITH a guard...

No, he thought. It was definitely time to leave Vancouver with what they had now. While they couldn't destroy the city, at least they could add some more deaths to Canada. Slip away somewhere else...

His eyes flickered to one of the screens: it was showing the bodies of two teenagers talking together. Impossible as it may seem, it was none other than–

"Kellyn Fiore and Kate Periphery," Vulture breathed coolly, "What do think you two are doing there? Right now?"

Vulture picked up a headset and plugged.

"_We are totally outgunned, Kate. The ERT has to know._"

"_So where's the jammer, Kellyn?_"

"_No pressure! Sebring Six is disabled and I've an idea where the jammer might be..._"

Vulture was furious now. He picked up his radio and spoke harshly, "All GSI agents; go to the front lines and kill whatever policeman you desire."

While the GSI headed off to the port's front, Vulture loaded up his twin pistols and silently headed off to the jammer room. His schedule was to escape from Vancouver right now, but his mind was on other things for he had lost all sense of reason.

_Kellyn Fiore; Kate Periphery… your lives end here tonight._

* * *

At the jammer room which Kellyn and Kate cautiously entered, they were entirely surprised to find that the two-leveled room was completely deserted. Not a single GSI agent was found. Even the security office was empty.

"Let's disable it, quickly!" Kate said.

The jammer wasn't as complicated as Kate anticipated. Just like a computer, all it needed was an off switch. Kellyn, for another good measure, shot a bullet into the power button so that it would never be used again.

"Kellyn, radio in that the jammer's disabled."

"Let's both–"

BAM-BAM! Two gunshots were fired and hit both Kellyn and Kate's links. Now it was impossible to communicate with the RCMP now.

Kellyn, by instinct, wrapped his arms around Kate and brought her and him to the ground behind some metal boxes. Then they each drew out their 9mm's. Only one described in the file could fire that accurately...

"Vulture!" Kellyn shouted, "Don't tell me you're here!"

Out of the shadows came the same voice, "Did you honestly THINK I wasn't going to show up?! I only came here to take YOUR lives!" There were three more shots fired.

Kellyn and Kate ducked and wanted to fire back, but there was no target.

"If you can stop being a coward, Vulture, we'll fight!" Kate shouted.

"Very brave of you Periphery, I agree."

The light beams flickered on. They were so bright that the twosome was temporarily blinded and Vulture, being used to seeing both light and dark, seized that opportunity to perfectly shoot down a stack of crates that began to topple over them...

"Back, back, back, back..." Kate said as she grabbed Kellyn's wrist and walked quickly away from the crates that smashed to the ground. After refocusing their sight and rubbing their eyes, they pulled out their 9mm's and pointed them in Vulture's direction (that is, up) and opened fire on him.

Vulture jumped down to a nearby metal box to avoid the gunshots, took cover and shot a few more rounds from one of his guns, then he started to reload, and shouting out more things to the twosome.

"You ruined everything! We were doing fine making our shipments from this country. We were this close to destroying all of Vancouver! And yet YOU disabled it! YOU. WILL. PAY!"

Kellyn and Kate weren't intimidated. Instead they used the time to reload their guns, emptying their cartridges and loaded a new one.

"The GSI may have failed, you two. But I promised myself I would kill you, Kellyn, before I ESCAPE!"

"Just Kellyn?" Kate smirked.

"Think it's funny, do you?! Imagine what your life would look like after he's dead! Besides! I intend to kill one of you before the day is done!"

"How would you know that?" Kellyn shouted.

"Because... I NEVER LOSE MY TARGET!

Then Vulture leaped from the metal box, shooting a few more rounds in mid-air, and kept shooting continuously.

Kellyn crouched and fired from the ground while Kate shot in standing position. They managed to disarm one of Vulture's guns, now they needed to get rid of the other one.

"Think you can still fight? Vulture?" taunted Kellyn.

"Still fight?! I'm just getting started!"

Kate doubted it, but Vulture was smart; what he did was continue to strife and keep shooting. His tactic allowed him to shoot both Kate and Kellyn's guns from their hands. They were defenseless now.

"Stay where you are," Vulture said menacingly.

"WE WON'T!" Kellyn and Kate said together.

"I thought so, but still..."

Vulture pointed his remaining gun at Kate, who was now frozen to the spot.

"Kellyn... surely you must have realised, we faked Kate's death. We wanted to see the kind of effect it would have on you afterwards," Vulture sneered.

Kellyn looked at Vulture in disbelief.

"NOW! This is where your real pain starts!" Vulture aimed at Kate's head.

"NO!" Kellyn shouted. "Right now; there's only one thing here that matters to me more than my pain, and that's the life of my friend Kate!"

Vulture's eyes narrowed. "Fine then! Let's see how you'll deal with that burden!"

Before Vulture could even fire, Kellyn violently shoved Kate to aside and quietly said, "Find something to signal the ERT with!"

A split second after Kellyn said that, Vulture fired two shots and each of them hit their target. He could feel one punch in his left shoulder, and a second more violent punch slamming into his chest…

Kate horrifically watched Kellyn crumble to the ground bleeding. With no second thoughts, Kate ran off to another hallway leading to another large section of the port building.

As Kate ran off, she gave a deep thought. _I won't forget what you've done for me, Kellyn._ Then Kate disappeared from Vulture's sight. Kellyn's also.


	7. Kate: First Aid

**A little credit to SpiritBlueWolf who's taken a liking to this story.**

* * *

_**Chapter seven**_

Kate walked silently in a state of shock as she kept recalling that memory of Kellyn getting shot. She found a particularly dark spot near the exit to sulk.

Tears filled her eyes. Kate rubbed them away.

Kate thought back to the superintendent's funeral from the morning before, she continued to shed tears at the thought of it.

_Flashback: The morning from two days ago, in Burnaby._

"_I hope there won't be more officers killed in the future... ugh!"_

_That was when Kate elbowed Kellyn in the chest. "You keep talking like that, you might end up getting killed yourself!" she said._

_In her heart, Kate didn't actually mean it. She still wanted Kellyn to stay alive! She continued to cry for a little longer, filled with regret._

_Is it my fault that Kellyn died? Could I have stopped that?_

Kate then thought back to what Kellyn wanted: get the ERT.

_Maybe I can still do something for Kellyn..._ Kate thought.

So Kate entered the next door trying to find some flares, just so she can grant Kellyn's last request, and it suddenly came to thought that his request was just for _her_.

_Does Kellyn really care for me THAT much?_ Kate continued to think.

* * *

Back in the command vehicle, the command crew had another report to fill with Stevenston.

"A piece of good news, sir: we have re-established radio contact with all constables in the area. It seems that the jammer has been lifted."

"Good," Stevenston said. "Anything else?"

"We'll give you a quick file to look at. But sir, who do you think shut down the jammer?"

Stevenston didn't say anything, but he secretly thought that it was Kellyn and Kate who did it. I must remember to congratulate them. I just hope they can manage this alive.

He turned his wrist to look at his watch. The hour hand ticked past the one. _Ridiculous. How could an operation, a joint one I might add, take so long?_

* * *

Kate breathed fast, her heart pounded as she in exhaustion moved through the dark silence. The only good thing she could get out of it was several lights that guided her way through the area. Near a rafter, she ducked down to plan her next move. In the process, she peeked at the corner to make sure no one was there, and hopefully not Vulture.

Kate realised it would have been better to take the view of the high ground instead, seeing that there was a metal staircase to her right, she rushed over there in hope that, apart from getting a good view, there would be some flares.

Clink. Kate took a step on the stairs.

But most unfortunately that incident allowed Vulture to manage, track, and catch up to the sound still armed with his one gun.

"I can hear you Kate Periphery!" he shouted and threatened with another gunshot.

Kate was drenched in fear. She had to find a way to escape, or else she would never escape from this place alive. Better not to fall for Vulture's taunts...

"You can't escape from ME! You're finished! I've taken away one chunk of your life that mattered to you! I've killed your friend you've known for ten years! What's your next move now?!"

Kate was filled with rage. Her intention was to avenge Kellyn. But would that make her feel any better? Kellyn would have wanted her to get out of the port. Signal the police...

But before she could move, Vulture appeared right behind her, and Kate turned swiftly to enter a fighting stance.

"Ha, you really think that kind of resistance will give you the upper hand? I doubt it," Vulture said, and Kate knew that he meant to mock her.

The gun's trigger was pulled, but Kate already dove for Vulture's knees; and made him stumble and fall to the ground hard.

"Nice try," Kate said.

But she celebrated too early, as Vulture had already gotten back up and aimed a fist at Kate. She swiftly blocked it and tried to get a hold of his wrist. But she was overpowered…

Vulture knocked her to the floor, picked up and stuck his gun to Kate's head.

"It ends here... at least neither you or Kellyn will leave Port Vancouver alive," Vulture started. "I would have never, _ever_, guessed that sixteen year olds like you would ruin everything the GSI planned for Vancouver… I underestimated you."

Kate smirked at him, saying, "Well, if you're going to destroy my home city and kill off a million lives, I suppose I have every reason to ruin your scheme. At least I'll die honourably, like Kellyn."

Vulture's face contorted with a mix of annoyance and anger, and readied the trigger–

BAM. A bullet nailed into Vulture's ankle. Vulture, already driven senseless from the GSI's failure, screamed uncontrollably and fell backward, throwing his gun aside along the way.

Kate looked around in bewilderment, looking for who fired the gunshot. _It couldn't have been a police officer,_ she thought. _Who else would be in the building right now?_

"You know– mph! You should've moved faster, Kate."

Kate flinched. That voice was recognised as soon as she heard the first word. But no! It couldn't be. Kate slowly turned her head with effort.

Kate was overwhelmed at the sight of her hero. It was Kellyn Fiore.

Left shoulder soaked in blood, not a fatal wound that had blood slowly flowing down to his jacket and also immobilised its movement. But his right arm still had enough strength to hold up the 9mm, and Kellyn was limping.

"You okay – ugh!" Kellyn dropped to the ground. "Kate?"

"Kellyn!" Kate rushed to him. "Are you okay?"

"Hey, I'm wounded, remember?" Kellyn groaned out.

"Oh... right..." Kate sighed.

Kellyn grinned, "Remember those flares?"

"Oh! Right!" Kate came back to her other senses.

Kate began to dash, but a split second later said, "Don't you still need any help?"

Kellyn thought about that briefly and then shook his head. "No, the flares matter more. I'll be fine. The sooner the better."

"Don't be silly, Kellyn. You're coming with me! No questions asked!" Kate said with delight and threw Kellyn's arm (the right side, of course. Kate always had a lookout for cleanliness) over her neck. Kellyn was a loss for words.

She brought him to the side of a wall and laid him down against it.

"I've had training in first aid, Kellyn," she said. "Do you think I could help you?"

He nodded, "I've had – training too. Go ahead, Kate."

"Alright, I'm going away for a minute. Just pressure that wound for the time being."

"Okay. Stay safe."

Kate immediately went to work. She first left Kellyn where he was and went to find whatever she could use to patch up the wound on Kellyn's shoulder. She came across a table where a few towels sat messily on it. Thinking desperately, she grabbed them and brought it back to Kellyn in minutes.

"Here," she said. "Cover this on the wound for now. I'll be right back."

Before Kellyn could even say anything, Kate darted off to find whatever she could use to improvise as a sling. Fortunately, the Port had the sense to include some garbage bags as well. Kate grabbed them, brought them back to Kellyn, and started to patch up his shoulder.

"Kellyn? How did you survive that gunshot?"

Kellyn still felt some stressful pain throbbing in his shoulder. He bowed his head and said, "I'll tell you when we get back to Coquitlam. AND when I see a medic."

Kate frowned and continued to patch Kellyn. The next thing she did was to tightly tie the garbage bags together, and then she carried Kellyn to the flares, "Fine. But you'll have a lot of explaining to do once we're out." Then Kate smoothly cracked opened a flare, flung it a few times, and tossed it beside the nearest window.

* * *

Sergeant Jansen, in spite of being tired from the still-going all-nighter raid, was still concerned of what became of Kellyn and Kate since she left them on their own. She looked at the ERT, including the ones who accompanied her in Shangri-La. They seemed to be doing a fine job at breaking through the remaining GSI lines.

The GSI of course, holding all the firepower they wanted to fight off the continuous lines of elite police, fought vigorously with their orders to kill whatever. They outgunned the enemy, but they were plainly outclassed. There had been many casualties done by the ERT, combined with tear gas and more gunfire from the RCMP helicopters. Realising that the battle was lost, they dropped their weapons in surrender.

The ERT took no chances. They ensured that none of the GSI agents were still armed (particularly explosives). Finally, after all measures, the agents were handcuffed and loaded into three VPD cruisers.

Jansen frowned. _Where are Kellyn and Kate?_ Then her link called again.

"ERT unit ten here. Dense smoke detected at the left side of building."

"ERT unit fourteen is closer, they can move in to investigate."

"Will do."

Jansen looked at the distance, the unit in one of the helicopters moved closer to the smoke and the ERT members dropped in (they actually dropped in by breaking down the window).

Alternatively, all the other ERT units chose to break in the port building at last. Some found many unarmed GSI agents working on their not-so respective positions. The members detained them immediately. Two units found the Vancouver GSI cache of smuggled goods. The rest of every unit, combined with the effort of more VPD officers, stormed the building.

At one point, one ERT unit stumbled upon the blown up wall that lead to Sebring Six. They found that there were still GSI agents in there, also unarmed. They stealthily arrested them and checked on the bomb.

"ERT unit seven here. Sebring Six is disabled already. Look for any other GSI who might be still standing against us."

And where Kellyn and Kate were...

* * *

The twosome could hear the crescendo of nearing helicopters and Kate was no less relieved to see some aid arriving at last. It appeared that one unit of the ERT broke open the window and landed solidly onto the floor.

"You okay there, madam?" asked a member.

"I'm fine. He's not," Kate pointed at Kellyn. "Contact paramedics, please!"

The member nodded and spoke into his link, "Medic! We need a medic on-scene. A constable's got a bullet wound but it doesn't look bad. He's alive at the very least. We're transporting him now." Then he looked at Kate.

"Ready to come?" he asked.

"Two more things! There might be more GSI guys repairing Sebring Six! Oh, and Vulture's in the other room. We've taken him down."

"Alive?" he asked while Kellyn was carried into the helicopter.

"Yes," Kate replied while other ERT members went to check.

"How'd you do that?"

"Kellyn shot his leg."

"What?! Oh, well, okay," the ERT member gestured some of his men to move to the other room. Some others went to check on where the bomb was.

And there was Vulture. Handcuffed and escorted by three ERT members with a black paper bag on his head.

"We'll take him out of here soon, but you should go first," he directed Kate to the helicopter.

Kate got on the helicopter with an ERT's aid and waited to leave.

Twenty minutes later, the helicopter arrived on the ground. Kate watched Kellyn being led away to an ambulance where two paramedics waited for him. Kellyn was laid on a stretcher and boarded the ambulance to Vancouver West.

"Kate!" Sergeant Jansen called out.

"Oh, hey! Sergeant!" Kate called back.

"What's going on?"

"Kellyn... he got shot, that's all."

"WHAT?" Jansen was appalled.

"Don't worry! He only got a wound in the shoulder!"

Jansen relaxed, "Fine, let's escort him."

Kate decided against telling Jansen about Kellyn's shot in the heart. She'd rather not set her on panic. But Kate happily boarded an RCMP car with Jansen, and then they followed the ambulance with sirens on.

"I've got my iPhone here, Kate. You better call Kellyn's parents."

"You got it."

Kate took the phone and dialed the number, and waited for an answer.

"Hello-o?" said a cute and loud voice. It was Kellyn's–

"Little Sis," said Kate, "Is your mom there?"

"Oh. Hi Kate! Yeah, of course she is. Why?"


	8. At BC Children's

**Truth be told, this story is actually being republished. I wrote this story about three or four years ago.**

* * *

_**Chapter eight**_

At BC Children's Hospital in Vancouver West right after the operation of the RCMP, Kellyn was taken into the emergency unit without reason to stop. While he was being examined by the doctors Kate and Sergeant Jansen met up with Kellyn's mom and Little Sis. They were worried, so Kate did her best to comfort them.

"He'll live," Kate said, "He only got a shot in the shoulder, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Do you think Big Brother will still move?" Little Sis said tiredly.

"Of course he will!" said Kellyn's mom, as if it were obvious, but her face was a mix of anguish and fear. Turning to Sergeant Jansen, she said, "I thought you told me that Kellyn and Kate would be safe the night of this raid! Look at this; don't you think that now it's going a bit too far?"

But Kate came to Sergeant Jansen's defence, saying, "Hey, if it wasn't for Kellyn _I'd_ probably be dead right now. He did something worth doing."

"But he was on the verge of death!" Kellyn's mom protested. "Had you two not join the RCMP in the first place –"

"All of Vancouver would have reduced to a crumpled heap," Kate interrupted. "And then everyone would be beyond the verge of death today, including Kellyn, Little Sis, Sergeant Jansen, and you and me. Only that Kellyn and I weren't there to stop them."

"You see?" Little Sis blurted out. "Kate is talking sense!"

"Of course, dear," Kellyn's mom said, this time more relieved.

An hour later the door opened. The leading doctor approached Kellyn's mom and Kate, he seemed fine.

"Mrs. Fiore?"

"Yes?" Kellyn's mom held her breath.

"Well... we did it! Kellyn will be just fine. We've taken out all traces of a bullet in his shoulder but fortunately didn't hit his arteries. We've stitched up his skin. Just one more day and he'll be fine. And after his discharge don't move his left arm for a bit."

And the next thing everyone saw, Kellyn's mom was hugging the doctor in tears.

"What about his heart?" Kate asked.

"We found nothing."

That added confusion to Kate. After thanking the doctor Little Sis decided to talk to her.

"What about Big Brother's heart?"

"I saw him get shot!" Kate whispered.

Little Sis grinned, "You like Big Brother, don't you?"

Kate blushed, "N-no! Why would you say such a thing?"

"Well... you know..." Little Sis' smile became even bigger. "You've always seemed to get jumpy when something happens to Big Brother. Like now!"

"Well he's my childhood friend! I can just leave him like _that_!"

"Kate..." Kellyn's mom cut in. "Shouldn't you be heading home now?"

"Uh... it's just the weekend! I can wait, can't I?"

"Well, you should at least go back to Coquitlam to see your family! Your mother's been worried sick since she hasn't seen you for an entire night!"

"Put it that way... okay! How am I going to get back?"

It was Sergeant Jansen who spoke this time, "I'll drive you back."

Kate reluctantly got up and followed Sergeant Jansen outside, Little Sis piped up. "Don't worry, Big Sister! I'll let you know when Big Brother's feeling better! Okay? Deal?"

Kate smiled, "Okay, it's a deal."

Then she followed Sergeant Jansen outside to the police car they used.

* * *

Little Sis and Kellyn's mom finally got to visit Kellyn in his ward. The first thing Little Sis did was try to give her big brother a warming hug. But she wasn't to climb onto his bed to do so, plus she was little.

Fortunately, Kellyn's mom was courteous and lifted Little Sis to Kellyn, and he couldn't be any happier when he got a hug from his own family after so long.

Kellyn then shared his story of what happened at Port Vancouver. After a meal, he sternly instructed his Little Sis not to tell anyone what had happened.

"I am your Big Brother after all," Kellyn said.

"Just don't go too romantic on her, Big Brother! Because I've found a way to blackmail you!"

"Oh, and what would that be?" Kellyn was suspicious, and doubtful at the same time.

"I'll... tell your secret of liking Kate to your school's yearbook group that you wouldn't want anyone to know!"

"You wouldn't!" Kellyn stared.

"There's always a way through," Little Sis smirked.

Kellyn dropped back and shook his head. Finally, his little sister had managed a perfect blackmail at last.

Kellyn's mom stood up. "That's enough, dear. Kellyn needs to rest."

"Aww... mom! Can't we stay?"

"Would Kellyn like to?" Kellyn's mom directed.

Kellyn was getting drowsy, "I don't mind," he yawned.

Then Kellyn fell asleep, but not before taking a mental note to tell Kate how he survived a gunshot in the heart.

* * *

It wasn't until the day after that Kellyn was finally discharged from Children's. With his RCMP uniform neatly suspended on a coat hanger with his family, he felt strange. Still, he hid himself in the backseat to conceal himself from the public. Thanks to Little Sis though, Kellyn found his company to be more enjoyable.

They left Children's onto Oak Street, turned right (heading north) and within a minute onto King Edward Avenue. On that avenue, they went east to the end of King Edward until they hit Kingsway (heading southeast). When Kingsway hit Boundary Road (as the name suggests, it separates Vancouver and Burnaby) and turned a direct north onto Highway 1, and turning eastward eventually onto Lougheed Highway.

When they arrived at Pierce Place Kellyn was entirely relieved to get home. He took a quick shower, changed and went straight to sleep again.


	9. Before the Court

**This is a short chapter, but it's only meant to describe a bit of the enemy's fate. Also, the event here is made purely from my imagination and should not be taken too seriously. Otherwise, I would have taken Law, but I have conflicting timelines...**

* * *

_**Chapter nine**_

The morning after the operation's closure, Vulture was brought into a VPD detachment in Vancouver escorted by an ERT unit and several VPD officers. Not to mention Chief Superintendent Stevenston!

While they were on the road, Stevenston made a phone call.

"Welcome to the provincial courts of BC. How may I help?"

"I'm requesting Donald Chan's office."

"One moment please."

Stevenston waited for a few minutes before a new voice came on the line.

"Donald Chan's office. This is his secretary speaking."

"This is RCMP Chief Superintendent Stevenston; I'm requesting to bring in a charged suspect before Mr. Chan. Is he available?"

"Yes he is. When would you like to present the case?"

"This morning would be nice."

"Certainly."

It didn't take long for the press to line up outside the building once the police got there. As Vulture was being loaded out of the cruiser the CBC and Global broadcasters took video shots at Vulture while several more news press such as the Province, Globe and Mail, and the Vancouver Sun took pictures.

Stevenston was responsible for helping the other officers form a line to push away the press from the VPD detachment. After Vulture was inside he went to a few Inspectors and discussed what would happen next.

"We will present the charges at the court with the Crown."

"What kind of charges?" Stevenston enquired.

"Well..." the Inspector scratched his head, "We have multiple charges in which more than half are considered major. They include..."

Stevenston nodded, "Go on."

"They include making available property or services for terrorist purposes, using or possessing property for terrorist purposes, using firearm in commission or offence, possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose, possession for the purpose of trafficking and many more multiple charges. The other GSI agents will be facing similar charges. Needless to say that they're all major."

Stevenston chuckled, "Imagine how much the Crown attorney has to face now, they'll need at least a dozen prosecutors."

The other Inspectors burst out laughing.

* * *

The following morning, Vulture was brought before a judge in the Vancouver district Provincial Court. Stevenston, dressed in an RCMP suit, went with two Inspectors to present the case.

"Would you like to call a lawyer, Vulture?" asked the Inspector.

Vulture shook his head, so the Inspector turned to Stevenston and said. "We need the court to appoint a lawyer for Vulture before he can go in."

Stevenston nodded. "We'll talk once we're inside."

The Crown attorney was already there when they entered the courtroom. Seated at the front was Justice Donald Chan.

"Your Honour," Stevenston began. "The accused doesn't have a lawyer present. We request that the court appoint a lawyer for him before we present the charges."

Justice Chan nodded and made a phone call, "Hello, Mr. Stasis..."

An hour later, the defense lawyer named Mr. Stasis, a recent graduate of Simon Fraser University, appeared in the courtroom with a security guard.

"Your Honour," said Stasis.

Justice Chan gave Stasis a look of approval and said. "Welcome."

Stasis took a seat near the front and took out several notebooks.

"Let's begin," said Chan.

The Inspectors looked at Stevenston first, then said, "Your Honour, last night the RCMP and VPD did a joint operation in the Vancouver harbour to bust a world-smuggling organisation called the GSI. The raid was highly successful and we've apprehended many GSI agents. This agent, in particular..." he glanced at Vulture, "Is the leader of the organisation. We went through a lot a trouble to arrest him, and there is no need to say that the charges we've recommended to him under the Criminal Code should be considered major..."

The Crown attorney looked up, and took a few seconds to make several notes. Then he looked at the Inspector again. Stasis did the same.

"The charges include several counts of importing and exporting knowing it is unauthorised, one count of making available property or services for terrorist purposes, one count of using or possessing property for terrorist purposes, one count of weapons trafficking..."

The Inspector stopped to take a drink of water, and then he continued.

"Three counts of possession for purpose of trafficking, two counts of possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose, one count of escape and being at large without excuse, one count of unlawfully causing bodily harm and..."

The Inspector waited for Stasis and the Crown attorney to finish their notes, when they finished, he stated the rest of the charges, "Finally the higher offences he has committed; one count of assaulting a police officer, two counts of assaulting a police officer causing bodily harm, and three counts of disarming a police officer. These charges can no further be justified, Your Honour."

The Crown and Stasis each took many pages of notes. Each page with the title of the charge stated. When they had finished, they looked to Justice Chan awaiting his final decision of Vulture's fate.

Justice Chan picked up his hammer and hit it, "There is absolutely no reason why this man should be released. The date of this trial will be set in exactly forty-eight days and within this time I order the RCMP to keep him in custody. I will allow the press to publish the news of this raid, including the date of the trial. Gentlemen, you may start building your cases tomorrow. Adjournment."

The Crown and Stasis looked at each other and nodded. After everyone rose up and bowed to the judge, they exited the courtroom.

Stevenston headed outside. _Time to go back_. So he boarded an RCMP car and awaited a lift back to Lougheed Highway.


	10. How it Began

_**Chapter ten**_

Kellyn and Kate took a rewarding three days' rest from the RCMP and school (but not from homework!). Sergeant Jansen happened to run into them at Johnson Street. Then they decided to take a break at the Cornerstone Coffee shop beside the library.

"Well, everything's being cleared back to normal," Kellyn sipped his drink and opened up the day's Province newspaper.

"Exactly," said a cheerful Jansen. "Have you heard what became of Vulture?"

Kate was reading the Province headlines at the same time, "Looks like the operation will stay on the headlines for at least a week... hey! Vulture's going to head into the Supreme Court of BC in over a month!"

"Hey... what about the roadblocks?" Kellyn asked.

"Well, the police say they're going to stay for another week, then they'll give the all-clear," Jansen replied. "By the way, it should be interesting to know that the GSI in the world have disbanded. No more GSI to worry about now!"

Kellyn was about to say something but Jansen cut him off in excitement. "Oh and you know what? Stevenston's allowing the both of you to try out promotions tests!"

"Does that mean..." Kate was overwhelmed.

"Yep! You get a chance to get a promotion to Corporal!"

Kellyn was also overwhelmed. Slowly he said, "What about you, Sergeant?"

Jansen smiled, "I'm going for my own too."

Kellyn remembered that only the top fifteen of constables could get promoted and they would have to have a pretty long service record. It would be a miracle if the three of them could make it together (that is, twenty percent of the selected).

"We could try, but I have my doubts."

Kate nodded. It made sense since they were only sixteen anyway. Then she also remembered something...

"Kellyn! You still didn't tell me how you survived a shot in the heart!"

"Oh... right," Kellyn effortlessly reached into his vest pocket (with the right arm) and took out a small object.

Kate stared at it, "No way..."

Jansen was perplexed. "That's what stopped you from dying?!"

It was the superintendent's metal box that was given to Kellyn after he died. From what Stevenston told Kellyn, not even a drill could break through its structure. That included a spinning bullet.

"Are you kidding me?!" Kate exclaimed, "Wow, Kellyn... wow..."

"Yeah, if it weren't for this, I probably wouldn't be here anymore..."

Kate started to cry and laugh at the same time, "A-and I thought you were really dead! I don't believe it. I saw you get shot..."

Kellyn said, "You did. But it wasn't what it looked like."

There was a brief silence.

"Kellyn…!" Kate cried. "You shouldn't have faked your death like that! Do you know how much that weighed on my heart?! I would have been responsible for your death!"

"But in the end," Kellyn said comfortingly. "I knew it was worth it."

Another brief silence.

Sergeant Jansen decided to pay for their drinks, and afterwards she handed the twosome a letter. "This came in the mail for you. I'm off on a patrol, you two take care!" she waved.

Kate waved back at Jansen while Kellyn opened the letter and read it out. "Pinetree Elementary wants us to go back there for a visit."

"We have the time," said Kate.

They finished their hot drinks and drove uphill to Pinetree, to the same class in which they taught safety skills the week before.

* * *

"Look! They came back!" said the pink-haired girl.

"You guys are lucky we're taking a break, and this one of our last break days," Kellyn added. "Alright, what is it you want to know?"

"HOW DID YOU GET TO BE POLICE OFFICERS?" shouted the whole class.

Kellyn glanced at Kate for a response. She shrugged and said, "Our friend, who's a police sergeant, came to visit our school (she was referring to Sergeant Jansen). When she noticed we had a skill much more different than others she decided to train us. We've been doing this part-time job for a year already."

The class was speechless, finally the pink-haired girl said, "Wow! That's so cool! How can you prove you're officers?"

Kate flashed her ID card, "That's about it. We can't do too much in the service you know."

But the pink-haired girl still had her doubts. "Could you give us an explanation _how?_"

Kellyn smiled at Kate. "You explain."

_In short, it all began on one typical day in Coquitlam a year ago…_

_Sergeant Michelle Jansen was ordered to teach specified technical skills to Ms. Stott's English class, and additionally wanted them to learn how to defend themselves in the event of an attack._

_Kellyn and Kate were optimistic on the task, and they proved to be somewhat more exceptional than Jansen expected. Then a ridiculous yet _possible_ thought struck her: what if it was possible for these two to be in the police?_

_That night, she went to Chief Superintendent Stevenston to file in a report on that possibility. Although Jansen knew that Stevenston would most likely disagree, she had an argument in place just in case if that happened. Eventually, Stevenston agreed to make an exception in spite of the law, and contacted the Ministry of Public Safety in the process and a Superintendent._

_The next day was spent at Gleneagle Secondary when Sergeant Jansen kept hearing "Oh my goshes" from Melodee and was soon to know that Melodee was talking to Kate. After meeting up with her Jansen asked Kate if she was interested in joining the RCMP._

"_I'll think about it," she said._

_For Kellyn Fiore, Jansen was interrupted by Ms. Stott, saying that he was too young and needed to complete his studies in school. The thing was, Ms. Stott's wedding ring was stolen the night before and she was deeply saddened._

"_Oh my gosh," Melodee said. "Oh my gosh…"_

_At the same time, Sergeant Jansen could see a shady character at the end of the hallway, and he was smirking._

"_Hold it right there!" Jansen shouted._

_But the character had already broken off into a run, and already suspecting he was obstructing justice, Sergeant Jansen pursued._

_The suspect tried to cut pursuit by overturning a nearby garbage can, but Jansen was too quick for him, and she jumped it and caught up._

_But then she received a blow on the shoulder which forced her back in pain. Kellyn and Kate, knowing what the right thing to do was, decided to help out Sergeant Jansen._

_Kellyn gave an all-out sprint towards the suspect and dived for his legs. The suspect was about to leash out a kick but was stopped short when Kellyn had gotten a hold of his feet already. He fell on his back, and Kate pinned down one of his arms._

"_Stop!" Kellyn demanded._

_And at the right time, Sergeant Jansen was back on her feet and took back control of the situation. She took out a pair of handcuffs and locked one of the suspect's hands into it._

* * *

"_You're no doubt going to be charged with obstruction of justice," Jansen began. "And you're certainly going to be charged with assaulting a peace officer."_

_Ms. Stott, although she was shaken, thanked Sergeant Jansen for her work. At the same time Kate, with a keen eye, could not help but notice a square lump sticking out of the suspect's pocket. She reached in and took it out._

"_Ms. Stott!" Kate said. "Could this be your wedding ring?"_

_Kate's English teacher took the thin box and opened it. She gasped, "Kate! Of course it is! I –"_

"_For sure you're going to be charged with possession of stolen property too," Jansen cut in, addressing the suspect. "Say, Ms. Stott, can Kellyn and Kate join the RCMP now? Please…?"_

_Ms. Stott was suddenly aware that a twenty one year old was asking for her permission to have fifteen year olds join a police force._

"_But – how old are you?" she started. "You look younger than me… and how could Kellyn and Kate be fit to join the police anyway? You have to be nineteen at least, and they still have to finish school."_

"_My chief officer is trying to make an exception," Sergeant Jansen explained. "I've asked him to work with the Ministries of Public Safety and Education already! Just consider it a part-time job, please?! I mean, they can still come to school – I think."_

_Ms. Stott looked at Kellyn and Kate. "That'll be their choice, then. But I still have doubts, though."_

"_For sure I want to join the RCMP," Kate said._

_Kellyn, Sergeant Jansen, and Ms. Stott looked at her, surprised._

Since Kate is joining,_ Kellyn thought._ I might as well, too.

"_I'm in," Kellyn said._

_But now it was Kate's turn to be surprised._

"_What?! I thought you already joined the RCMP! Why, Kellyn?! Why did you trick me?! It's not like you to be that person –"_

"_Kate," Ms. Stott interrupted. "He didn't say anything."_

_Kate Periphery stared at Ms. Stott, then Sergeant Jansen, and then Kellyn._

_Ms. Stott, finally coming to an understanding, turned to Sergeant Michelle Jansen._

"_Well, then. I suppose the school board and I should have a talk with your chief officer so we can do a deal."_

* * *

"And that's what happened," Kate finished, leaving the class awestruck.

"But – HOW do you do homework nowadays?!" asked a student.

"Double time, you know," Kate simply said.

It was time to leave. Kellyn and Kate were about to exit the classroom when the pink-haired girl shouted, "Kellyn! One of these days Kate will be your girlfriend! I told you, I'll keep calling her that until you admit it!"

Kellyn face went a little red, "But if I somehow actually admit it, what would you call her afterwards?" he said softly.

"Well... then I'll congratulate you for getting a pretty girlfriend!"

The whole class stared at Kellyn and Kate with interest. Without having to say anything they could tell that the two of them were blushing, particularly Kate.

_That seems a bit too much for Kellyn_, Kate thought. _I wonder..._

Kellyn on the other hand managed to control his blushing again. "I-I'll think about it... while we're away."

"Just wait! I'll stop calling her your girlfriend when you admit it!"

Kate, like the rest of the class, was quite perplexed about her contradiction. To stop the pink-haired girl from saying Kate was Kellyn's girlfriend by admitting that Kate was his girlfriend just didn't make any sense.

The teacher was present when this was happening but was busy doing a lot of paperwork. That left the twosome with their own problems.

"I don't think that will happen," Kate said.

"You got it," Kellyn said as they started to leave, "I keep telling you that Kate and I are just friends, nothing more!"

The pink-haired girl's wide smile did not change one bit, "I'll wait... for that day when the two of you will kiss! Then you won't need to admit it at all! 'Cause it'll be already official!"

Kellyn and Kate left the school with something of an embarrassment.

* * *

While driving Kate home (which wasn't really far), Kellyn was listening to one of his favorite songs, and it was Kutless' 'What Faith Can Do.'

At Kate's home, Kellyn waved good-bye.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Kate prepared to shut the door.

"Yep, enjoy your day Kate," Kellyn waved a hand.

After that he took the car to Guildford Way. And then he walked to Johnson Street.

He took the time to examine what became of Coquitlam while he was gone in the raid. The weather seemed to gotten a little bit warmer, but not enough to get rid of the cold. That didn't bother Kellyn, he enjoyed the cold.

The cars were driving up and down Johnson Street as usual, Kellyn decided to take the liberty of picking up the mail and the post office on Barnet Highway (near Johnson Street). Kellyn found several letters and a thin envelope with his name on it "Delivered for Mr. Kellyn Fiore". He opened it and gasped.

It was a letter of thanks from the City of Vancouver, along with the envelope disclosed a ticket. It read, "For the use of any three major sports events within the Vancouver area. Expires in two years." Well, it must have been the least the City could do. He expected that Kate should have received one too.

After leaving the post office, Kellyn found that the weather had gotten slightly cold due to wind. He zipped up his jacket and walked up the road to his home. Past Glen, Guildford, Durant, Walton, Delahaye...

Kellyn was no less exhausted by the time he arrived at his house. He took out his keys and opened the door.

In the living room to his left, Little Sis was busy drawing some pictures. She looked up and saw Kellyn walk in.

"Big Brother? I thought you were already home!" she said.

"Little Sis, I was away for quite a while from home you know."

"Whatever! It still felt like you just came back ten minutes ago!"

Kellyn heaved a sigh. He didn't know if his little sister actually meant what she said or if she was just playing with him. But it was usually Little Sis' personality to play friendly tricks on people. But in particular her big brother was the one she picked on most because she knew he couldn't argue (a very good example is Little Sis' threat of blackmailing Kellyn. She found a way through!).

"Little Sis, is mom home?"

"She's coming back right now with your homework!"

Kellyn jolted. He quickly ran to the kitchen to grab a pencil, eraser, and ruler... whatever he needed. Though the police operation took a while, that didn't slip his knowledge of homework and school. He waited with Little Sis eagerly.

The door opened. It was their mom with a backpack full of textbooks, "Oh, hello Kellyn. Welcome home! Here's your homework from Ms. Stott."

Kellyn smiled. He gratefully took his backpack and got to straight to his work, "Mom, I went to pick up the mail a while ago."

"Thank you, Kellyn," she went to look at the pile and came across the letter from the City, "What's this?"

"Oh, it's just a letter of thanks from Vancouver, nothing much."

"Hmm! You've got a ticket for three events anywhere in Vancouver? That's... an appropriate reward."

Little Sis was quite upset. _Aww... why does Big Brother always gets the good stuff?!_ She furiously continued to draw, but in a way that was meant to annoy her brother.

Kellyn started to do his homework while trying not to be distracted from his little sister. Knowing Little Sis, she would probably get tired in a few minutes...

As he expected, Little Sis gave groan of disappointment and kept up with her work at a regular pace.

When the time came for dinner and Kellyn had finished with his homework, the family came together in the dining room (a large granite table seating eight). Kellyn's dad was also there preparing a dish of salmon and artichoke. Kellyn was feeling famished. Little Sis however, did not like artichoke at all.

"You have to eat your veggies," said Kellyn's dad.

"Listen to dad," said Kellyn. "Or else..."

Little Sis face showed nothing but a big smile. "Okay... I'll spare you just this once," she picked up her fork and forced herself to eat some of her artichoke while Kellyn leisurely ate his salmon.

* * *

While Kellyn was eating dinner with his family, Kate Periphery was at her home (in the elevated part of Johnson Street, a little further than Kellyn's home) in the process of printing several English assignments off her computer. She had been working under pressure to get a complete essay handed in to Ms. Stott and several more assignments to Mr. De Bakker, the Socials teacher.

_Oh, what would Mr. De Bakker react to this now..._ because it seemed that Kate didn't put too much effort with her assignments. Oh well.

"Kate!" shouted her mom.

"Yes mom?" Kate shouted back.

"You have a letter – no, an envelope from the post! You should read it!"

Kate picked up her finished assignments and walked to the room, on it was an envelope written "Delivered for Miss Katherine Periphery". She tore it open and read it. It was an official letter of thanks and, to Kate's surprise, a ticket.

_What's this?_ Kate thought with a feeling of suspense.

After reading it, Kate was just about to cheer when–

"Kate! Dinner's ready!" shouted her mom.

She became quiet, looked at the ticket again, and headed eagerly for dinner.

_Ah... what a week,_ Kate thought.


	11. A Treacherous Day of Romance at School

_**Chapter eleven**_

"Big Brother?"

There was silence.

"... Wake up."

There was sudden movement.

"Wahl! You woke up easier than I thought!"

Kellyn awoke to see Little Sis looking right at him to his left. She was dressed in her usual clothes (a sweater that looked like a tank top on the top, but the bottom had the appearance of a hoodie, and the one thing that made Little Sis' sweater that stood out the most was that it had sleeves that fell to the ground and folded, it was way too long.)

"Huh...? Morning Little Sis..." he yawned out and rubbed his eyes.

"Big Brother, are you still sleepy? The police raid was a week ago, but the Province is still writing about it. It really was something special, wasn't it?" she held out a copy of the day's Province. Kellyn took it and read the headlines.

'STILL NOT OVER YET...: Worldwide criminal organisation still leaves remains of many smuggled goods in Port Vancouver, police investigate.'

'A pleasant thanks to all police!'

There were pictures in the paper in which Kellyn recognised as the jammer he and Kate shut down and Sebring Six the previous week.

He looked up again, seeing Little Sis wave to get his attention. "Mom was calling for you downstairs!" Then she left the room.

Kellyn tiredly got up, changed into his regular clothes, put on his watch, brushed his teeth, combed his hair with the two spikes, and headed downstairs.

At the kitchen, where his mother and Little Sis were waiting, Kellyn approached them with a sense of sleepiness.

"Good morning, Kellyn," said his mom. "Did she wake you up again? I told her to let you sleep some more. Little Sis must have been very excited from last week, didn't she?"

Little Sis shifted nervously, "Eh-he-he..."

As Kellyn was halfway through his meal, his mom said. "Sergeant Jansen called, she's going to see you after school."

"Where?" Kellyn asked.

"She said she would drop by after your school dismissal before you walk back home. Speaking of, you better head to school now."

Kellyn picked up his pack and binders and headed to the front door.

"Take care!" Little Sis called.

* * *

Kellyn walked from his home all the way to Gleneagle Secondary. At the front, he was given a warm welcome from his classmates. He met up with Ivan at the beginning of the first block: English. The one he didn't see yet was his co-worker Kate. Still, there was four minutes left on the clock.

Ms. Stott was patient that day, and was willing to excuse Kate if she was actually late because she would have been probably exhausted from work (If Kellyn was late he would have been excused too). From what Kellyn's and Kate's parents told the school they were executing the police operation from the week before. That was a reasonable excuse.

"Okay, it's time that you turn in your essays," she said. "I'll review them for improvement."

The class of Grade 10's looked inside their binders in which everyone took out their completed essays and turned them to Ms. Stott. As they handed in their work they all noticed that Ms. Stott's hair seemed to have grown considerably longer.

"Ms. Stott? How often do you change your hairstyle?" asked a classmate.

"You like it?" she asked the class.

The class of Grade 10 shrugged.

Right when the last essay was being handed in Kate entered the room. She looked exhausted (from rushing to school, not from work).

Kellyn looked up, and flinched in surprise. It was Kate at the door, but the Kate everyone saw every day. Her hair was different this time: instead of her normal spiky pigtails it was long and straight (for unlike Sergeant Jansen's; it wasn't combed too neatly). She was prettier than he had ever seen.

The class glanced at her, and then they applauded politely, "Welcome back to school, Kate!"

Kate was grinning at a loss for words, "You know… I feel like being called by my full name today."

Ms. Stott eyed her suspiciously. "So… _Katherine_… what's with the change of name, anyway? Let me guess, it has to be something to do with your appearance."

Kate (or rather, Katherine) grinned. "Partly, Ms. Stott. Partly."

After that she took a seat next to Melodee and looked at Ms. Stott.

"Well, Katherine, you should turn in your essay now," she said.

"Uh... Ms. Stott?" Kate was timid at that point.

"Yes Katherine?"

"Uh... never mind," Kate said and started to look for her essay. It didn't take very long for her to find it. But the essay wasn't to Kate's satisfaction because, even though she finished it, it wasn't her work at her best.

"Okay, I'll mark them afterwards and..." Ms. Stott trailed off when she looked at Kate's essay, "Don't FORGET your writing dress-ups!" she directed this particularly to Kate. Kate put down her head in shame.

"Fine, we'll get straight to today's stuff... and ensure that you've got your success caps on! You've got until summer for the provincials. There's an English writing reflection next week so start studying! Or I'll be throwing shards of glass at your heart!"

Ms. Stott paused, "Hmm... shards... I like that."

"Not that she would throw shards at us, right?" a classmate blurted out.

Ms. Stott made hand motions as if she were holding shards of glass and threw them toward the student.

"Uh... never mind."

Ivan smirked and got out his notes. "You owe me an explanation from last week. I saw the news, you know…" he murmured to Kellyn.

"Oh... okay! After class then!" Kellyn replied and they returned their attention to Ms. Stott, who was writing on the whiteboard.

"When you've finished your notes I might even let you off homework, and maybe even an 'omit' on your test."

The entire class appeared unconvinced, seeing that this was English 10.

Ms. Stott smiled, "Okay... never mind! You'll have to live on your own then. Study hard! Work hard!"

That hour was spent on concept reviews of the test. After the next block had passed it was time for a lunch break.

Kellyn's locker was next to Ivan's. They spent more time talking about the past week's events than eating their lunches. Kellyn talked about the police roadblocks in downtown all the way to when the ERT began their raids on Port Vancouver.

"Can you believe it?!" said Kellyn, "I've never seen so many police for that sort of thing. It was like a war that night!"

"Intense," Ivan said with interest. "What did you do after?"

"Well... Katherine and I were captured in the process. But our police sergeant managed to break us out of there."

"How'd that happen?" Ivan raised an eyebrow.

"Vents and ducts."

"Ah. That's classic! And different, I mean for real life."

"You know what happened after?"

"What?"

"We disabled the bomb that was meant to take out practically all of Vancouver. Anyway, it turned out that there was another bomb, but our friend Sergeant Jansen got rid of it in the end."

"I see..." Ivan said speechlessly.

At Kate's locker, she was also doing some talking. "... and do you know what? We decided to shut down a jammer."

"Oh my gosh! You must've nearly gotten killed..." Melodee paused. "WAIT! What if you actually DID get killed?! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!"

Kate watched in embarrassment as Melodee again went through another of her daily 'Oh my gosh!' screams. When she calmed down, Melodee went to face Kate again.

"We nearly did. We were trying to shut down a jammer, right?"

"Uh-huh...?" Melodee nodded.

"Well. We were shooting guns at the GSI guy. He disarmed us and he was about to shoot me!"

"OH MY GOSH! What happened then?!" Melodee was jumping up and down in fear and anxiety.

"Kellyn chose to protect me..." Kate trailed off.

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! What happened? What happened?!"

"He – he shot Kellyn," Kate timidly said.

Melodee's limit of 'Oh my gosh' had stretched further. Right after a few seconds she exploded with jumps and screams of. "OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! WHY ISN'T HE DEAD THEN? OH WOW! KATE!"

The burst of screams from Melodee literally made Kate fall on the ground in shock. Melodee giggled and helped Kate gets back up.

"By the way, have you admitted to Kellyn you loved him yet?"

Kate stared. "Are you crazy? I haven't seen him for the last two days!"

Melodee waited.

"I know that he loves me," Kate said in a low voice. "I managed to make him react to it when I asked if he likes me. Only I haven't actually told him that I like him."

"How about this?" Melodee smiled, but was wider than normal. "I'll tell him about your crush on him at the end of the day?! Deal?"

"Oh come on!" Kate jerked. "Give me another day okay?"

She stopped as she just realised what she had just said. Melodee's expression had changed from a persistent one to a triumphant one.

"Oh. My. Gosh! You've just admitted it perfectly time this time!"

Kate was speechless. Fortunately for her the bell rang. It was time for Socials. The Grade 10 class went to get their books for Mr. De Bakker's class.

* * *

Mr. De Bakker was already in the classroom before the bell rang. He was dressed in yet another of his neat suits (he wore this every day to teach!). Although he was old and a veteran teacher of the school, but he could still teach effectively. What some students say was that he was known to have taught every graduate in the school. But what he was infamous for was his ten push-up punishment rule.

"All right my children..." said Mr. De Bakker. But then a student burst into the classroom.

"Sorry I'm late, Mr. De Bakker."

"Do you have any excuses?"

The student shook his head.

Mr. De Bakker smiled. "All right then does your ten push-ups. Down for ten!"

While the late student was doing ten push-ups to cover his lateness, Mr. De Bakker called, "Time for a homework check!"

Everyone got out their homework. Mr. De Bakker went over each student individually and inspected their work.

"Good... good... what's this?" he stopped at Kate's work. "You didn't do your homework? Oh... you slacker!"

Kate looked in humiliation as Mr. De Bakker looked at her messy work.

"Would you believe...I was working under pressure?"

Mr. De Bakker made a face that looked as if he didn't have any idea what Kate was saying. It only lasted a second though, and then he said, "Heh-heh... Do your ten." And then he moved on.

Kate, being a girl, had the option to do sit-ups instead of the push-ups done by the boys. After that she got back to her seat.

There was a quiz that was to take place the day after. Mr. De Bakker gave a short review of what they were to study (they were doing systems of the constitutional monarch government and debates in the House of Commons).

"You could try to scam your way through this quiz, but I can tell you that the idea is to study the divisions of parliament and... dah...dah-dun, dah... dah-dah!" At that Mr. De Bakker drew a skull and crossbones on the whiteboard.

Kate giggled. _Oh, Mr. De Bakker's joke of democracy_.

After the review Mr. De Bakker chose to give some extra notes on constitutional monarchy. Writing and writing...

"You have all the notes here written here, study hard! This. Is. Easy!" he said. "But don't worry..."

Melodee piped up. "You're allowed to flunque (which was really Mr. De Bakker's term of 'flunk' which was to fail, but his spelling was quite different than most). Oh my gosh!"

Mr. De Bakker patted Melodee on the shoulder. "Now you're speaking my language." Melodee laughed (Oh my gosh!).

The class carried on, Mr. De Bakker mainly went through the time writing on the board, handing out worksheets and giving out small lectures.

When he came upon one of Kellyn's classmates (who had no paper at the time) Mr. De Bakker looked at him with surprise.

"You're out of paper? Bizarre! Why don't you get yourself a rich girlfriend?"

Some of the other classmates chuckled.

Going through some of the concepts of Constitutional Monarch, which included the Crown and the Governor-General, and reformation, Kellyn picked up several more useful notes for use.

Mr. De Bakker asked one simple question. "What member always holds the position in government for a lifetime?"

One classmate, knowing this from the year before, put his hand up. "Is it the Senate?"

Mr. De Bakker looked at her and laughed. "Heh! You're so smart you should be in Grade 10! Nice weather we're having."

Kellyn looked outside. The weather was starting to look bad with heavy rain that fell like stones. He sighed.

"You get the idea of the government now?!" Mr. De Bakker exclaimed. "Very good! How smart you are! As a reward, you get to do page 43 on the House of Commons of Sir Robert Borden!" He drew the number on the board.

Then Mr. De Bakker went over to one of the girls who were considered in the school 'popular' and said, "Give me an F."

"F?" said the girl.

"Give me a L."

"L?"

"Give me a U."

"U?"

"Give me an N."

"N?"

"Give me a Q."

"Q?"

"Give me a U."

"U?"

"Give me an E."

"E?"

"What have you got?"

It took Kellyn a few seconds to register what Mr. De Bakker's point was. Kellyn bowed his head and laughed quietly.

"Flunque?" the girl assumed. (This word is Mr. De Bakker's form of 'flunk').

"Now you got it," he smiled.

The rest of the class was spent doing half the homework. When the bell had rung, the Grade 10 class (at least half of the boys minus Kellyn) jumped up.

Mr. De Bakker looked at them disapprovingly and shouted. "Oh, look at all the jack in the boxes! Paper on the floor... nobody goes!"

Everyone sat down and waited for Mr. De Bakker to speak. Finally he said, "Ladies dismissed!"

Kate and Melodee picked up their books and quietly headed outside.

Mr. De Bakker had an impression to dismiss the boys too, but he had other ideas for them...

"Okay, gentlemen, do your ten push-ups. Every one of you!"

Kellyn, Ivan, and the other half of the class didn't refuse or protest against doing ten push-ups particularly when it was the only way to get out of class.

When the boys had finished their push-ups, one boy asked, "Mr. De Bakker? What did we do to earn ten push-ups, anyway?"

Mr. De Bakker looked as if he had no idea, and then said, "Nice weather we're having... gentlemen dismissed!"

Every boy in the class picked up their books and left quietly.

* * *

The final block was an unexpected early dismissal that day. Kellyn went to his locker to pick up his homework and supplies. He began to turn his lock...

"Hello, Kellyn..." said a soft voice.

Kellyn looked up. That voice belonged to one of the few girls the school considers 'super' popular. Without even having to turn his head, let alone think, he knew that voice belonged to –

"Stella," Kellyn said flatly. Since she was here (not to mention older than Kellyn by at least six months) he decided not to open his locker. "State your case."

Stella was a girl who had luminous blue eyes and sun-streaked blonde hair. Her lightly tanned skin was oddly pale under the florescent lights. And most of the guys in the school were head over heels over her. No one knows why, they just do. Maybe the reason was because she was the flashiest girl in the school (but obviously not in Kellyn's eyes) and was friends with practically everyone. Though, she wouldn't be considered a 'true' friend in most cases.

Stella smiled and batted her huge doe-eyes with 'innocent' intentions at Kellyn. "What cha doing'?" she purred. She really was like a cat, eyeing her prey eagerly and keenly.

"Opening my locker," Kellyn replied obliviously.

"Really?" she smiled. "Need any help?"

"No." The answer was short and view apparent.

She pouted, "Don't you want me to help?"

"Why would I want your help opening a locker?" Kellyn looked at her oddly.

"Oh Kellyn, Kellyn, Kellyn," she shook with two fingers on her forehead, a smile gracing her lips, "Because then you'll have an excuse to touch me! Hold my hand for instance! Duh!"

"Why would I want to hold your hand?" Now Kellyn really didn't understand this girl, but what he did know was that Stella had no idea of the events from last week. Thanks to the Canadian secret service.

Suddenly a thought crossed through Stella's mind. She froze in thought before quickly looking into Kellyn's eyes.

"Wait...is the reason why my advances aren't working on you because...you already have a girlfriend?" she asked suspiciously.

What Stella said wasn't really the truth. But Kellyn finally showed some emotion. A slight blush caressed across his face, but quickly disappeared at once.

But not fast enough for Stella not to see. She clapped her hand on her forehead.

"Oh my flapping word! You do have one?!" Stella exclaimed.

She began bombarding him with questions, "How long have you been dating? When? Where? No, no, no, I should be asking the most important question! Why?!" She asked dejectedly.

In an effort to get away from Stella, Kellyn took his bags and swiftly moved through the school using his usual (and fast) walking pace. Stella followed him everywhere, tormenting him with all those questions along the way.

Girls' heads began turning, and Kellyn noticed a familiar face in the crowd. Melodee was near the back, her face contorted in confusion. Kellyn shot a helpless glance across to her, mouthing _help me!_

Melodee smiled awkwardly, before shaking her head, motioning to her throat. Kellyn wondered what was wrong. In response to his thought, she mouthed, _Can't_. _Voice too dry._

Of all the times she could've been silent; it had to be now didn't it?

A black-haired girl with silver-streaked bangs ran up to Kellyn, her eyes gazing at him dreamily. "No, Kellyn! You can't have a girlfriend! What will your fan club think of?"

"Fan... club?" Kellyn stuttered. He already confirmed that he wasn't popular nor did he try. He also made that clear to his classmates, and they knew him too well. Well, at least they couldn't be blamed for starting a fan club.

"Whoopsie," the girl added, covering her mouth. Kellyn finally remembered her: Sylvanna. He couldn't recall her last name.

Stella was clearly outraged, "Flappity flap! No way! Kellyn is mine!"

Now Kellyn had a huge problem! The class of Grade 10 (that is, Kellyn and Kate's grade) knew that Kellyn would never attempt to gain control over others, seeing that this was his nature. But his nature was also that he was considerate to others. The problem was that Kellyn couldn't apply that to this case. He didn't want to encourage the girls to continue with their crazy actions, nor did he want to say anything that would break them emotionally. He had no idea what to do...

_Depending on who they are, I think they would be the equivalent of two Little Sis's._ _Two_! Kellyn thought.

For Kellyn, he knew that there would be girls in the school who would really like him. Fortunately for Kellyn, his maturity managed to keep away many more girls who would potentially chase after him. At least two girls would look at him each day, but fewer girls would rarely chase after him_. Those who chased... They must be those from the so-called fan club,_ he thought.

Kellyn did what he could do and the only thing that made sense: walk away as quickly as possible. But several girls stepped in front of him, blocking his way.

"Where the flap are you going?" Stella called out from behind in a honeysweet tone. "You're not going to run away are you? Nuh-uh!"

"No!" Kellyn objected. "I'm just..." He stopped speaking suddenly.

Stella noticed and used the opportunity to give a disheartened shout to the crowd, "Hey! Everyone! Guess what? It's official! Kellyn Fiore has girlfriend!"

There were several gasps from the crowd (well, at least the girls). To add to Kellyn's misery; the yearbook group had arrived with several cameras and notepads. "Okay, who's the lucky girl who's your girlfriend, Kellyn?"

Feeling humiliated, Kellyn struggled to say. "S-she- Stella lies! I don't have a girlfriend! Really!"

"Sure, sure..." One of the girls in the yearbook group shook her head with her eyes tightly shut. "For a boy like you, how can you not have a girlfriend?"

Kellyn felt more defiant at that question. "If you haven't noticed, I don't really need one."

The crowd disagreed, "No way! He needs one for sure!"

"Pick me! Pick me!"

"No, don't listen to her. Pick me!" yelled Sylvanna.

Stella was clearly outraged, "You keep the flappity flap out of the way! He belongs to me, me, and me!"

Small scale screams began to cry out in the halls.

Ivan and Melodee were now completely conscious that the girls in the vicinity, particularly Stella and Sylvania, were about to start something between a stampede and a riot. Without having to think, they pushed the respectable class of Grade 10 out of harm's way.

"What's going on?" asked a classmate.

"It's Kellyn's problem. If you know what's good for you, get away fast," Ivan said with a major hint of urgency.

Girls (for no logical reason) started to throw multiple pieces of garbage at Kellyn. More girls started to chase after him, including (for additional pressure for Kellyn) the yearbook group.

Kellyn narrowly dodged a girl dived at him. But he was to find out that the girl wasn't even targeting for his arm.

She was diving for his leg.

"Yay! I touched Kellyn!" the girl smiled hysterically.

_If you were to bother touching me, you might as well have asked for a handshake,_ Kellyn thought. _Some people are just insane._

Now the school's girls had initiated a riot and a stampede. They started to pursue Kellyn while at that they overturned whatever was in their path. If not for his training with the RCMP and Sergeant Jansen, Kellyn probably wouldn't have made his getaway from the girls. Still, he couldn't run away from them forever…

"Just keep running, just keep running…" Kellyn paced to the exit doors.

They were blocked.

_Oh, come on!_ Kellyn felt defeated. _Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. Don't think I have any, though…_

The only thing Kellyn could resort to was the custodian's own cupboard storage, where the cleaning supplies were kept.

_I've got to get rid of these, though!_ Kellyn looked at his bags and binders. So he threw them into the boy's washroom and running through the maze of lockers he made his way to the custodian's storage.

He opened it to find that the custodian's supplies were jam packed with his mops and cleansers. Kellyn squished himself in and tried his best to fit in the storage before the girls arrived. He got in in the end with only seconds to spare.

He silently waited and hoped that the crisis would end eventually. The hoard of girls approached the area where we was and began speaking at the same time to each other.

"Where's Kellyn?!" screamed a girl.

"How should I know?! He was here a while ago! I definitely saw him!" screamed another. "Could he be…?"

"What do you think, Sylvanna?" a girl said to her.

"I think… that he's trying to go to his girlfriend!" she suggested.

Sylvanna's statement was really meant to be a suggestion, but the circumstances surrounding that statement gradually became more diverse. So the girls in the end took the statement very seriously.

"O-KAY! WHO'S THE GIRLFRIEND OF KELLYN, HUH?" a girl screamed at the top of her lungs. "WE. MUST. FIND HER!"

"Anyone got any ideas?" Sylvanna took this calmly.

"I have an idea…" said a cool voice. To Kellyn, it possibly made the situation worse. It was Stella.

"Here's the deal; I tell you who his girlfriend is, you get to blackmail Kellyn as soon as you get a hold of her," Stella said with a greedy smile. "Then when we're done, I'll find a way to kick his girlfriend out of Gleneagle Secondary too."

The yearbook group looked at the girls and Stella. "What do you think?"

"So… how do we know you're telling the truth?" asked one of the others. She was already tying her shoelaces and clenched her fists after.

Stella grinned. "I know Kellyn way too well for that. I keep an eye on him every day and he's too innocent to notice!"

Kellyn kept his mouth shut, but secretly thought to himself. _Stalker!_

"Who's the girl, huh Stella?" the yearbook group said at the same time.

Stella laughed hard. "Her name is…"

"Tell us, tell us!" the girls watched Stella eagerly.

"It's Katherine Periphery," Stella finished.

There was a moment of silence.

"I knew she just couldn't be trusted!" yelled out a girl.

"She has to be found!" said another.

"And when we do, we are going to make sure that she won't go near Kellyn Fiore ever again! Who agrees we should kick her out of the school?"

"Let's sign a petition!" suggested the yearbook group. "We'll tell the school board just how terrible she is!"

"Who agrees?"

"ONE AGAINST ALL AND ALL FOR ONE!" screamed the girls and they began to stampede their way to the other side of the school, which left Kellyn in a very, very, bad and guilty position.

"Since when did they ever meet Katherine, anyway?" Kellyn shook his head. "But Katherine… she's in danger because of me… what can I do?"

He had made up his mind at last. He properly made sure that all the girls of the 'fan club' had disappeared. Then he cautiously walked out of the storage, went to the washroom to pick up his bags and binders, and headed carefully in the direction where the girls were heading.

Unfortunately for him, the girls just so happened to head back in that direction. Out of dread and desperation, Kellyn tossed his bags right beside a locker's corner and hid in the same storage he used earlier.

"Oh, no…" Kellyn said to himself. "Katherine… I hope you're okay."

* * *

Kate Periphery brushed her long hair behind her ear. She had of course heard the stampede in the first place about the business of Kellyn, but had no idea what was actually going on.

"Where are my classmates…?" Kate wondered.

The hallways were only a quarter full of students by this time. Kate was now beginning to grow very suspicious of the environment. Most of all her concern for Kellyn grew even stronger.

Kate took out her phone to send a quick message to Melodee.

_Where are you guys? The hallways are practically deserted!_

The reply came barely five seconds after she had sent the message.

_Kate! Are you still in the school?! What are you doing there?! Oh my gosh! Ivan and I thought we had all the Grade 10's out of there!_

Kate pondered and typed in another message.

_Wait… what are you guys doing outside? Is Kellyn with you?_

Melodee's reply came shortly after.

_Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! You haven't heard? Kellyn's on the run from the yearbook group and his 'fan club'! Not to mention that he's still in the school! Knowing Stella and the rest of them, they'll probably be around closing the exits and hunting YOU! Kate, you better find a place to hide, or else!_

Kate shut her phone off. Now was exactly the perfect time to panic! She could do nothing else but either hide or perhaps look around for Kellyn. But seriously, Kellyn was actually hiding. What were the odds of her finding him?

She took a deep breath and walked cautiously into the hallways.

If Kate was super aware, she would have noticed one of the girls from the yearbook group tailing her. Camera in hand, she quietly snuck behind Kate to see what she was up to.

* * *

Kate alone went to the right hand side of Gleneagle Secondary. She didn't see Kellyn on the other end, so he must be on this side of the school…

She looked near the boy's bathroom. There weren't any sounds, but Kate assumed that Kellyn must be hiding there…

"Huh?" Kate stared. Kellyn's bags and his binder were clumsily placed on the floor in the corner of the locker set beside her. Based on how they were thrown, Kate quickly concluded that Kellyn wanted the bags to be hidden deliberately. Kate didn't pick them up, but she assumed that Kellyn must be around the vicinity.

"KATE PERIPHERY! WHEREVER YOU ARE, SHOW YOURSELF! WE HAVE ALL THE EXITS BLOCKED OFF!" a voice boomed through the school. It was Stella. "THERE'S NO ESCAPE! SHOW YOURSELF! OR ELSE KKELLYN FIORE WILL SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES! MAKE NO MISTAKE!"

_You don't even know where Kellyn is, sillies_, Kate thought. The thought of that amused her and she started to look for Kellyn Fiore or at least a place to hide.

* * *

Outside, half the students of Gleneagle Secondary were crowded around the outside of the school's front doors waiting for buses. It was a small surprise to some of the students when an RCMP car pulled into the school's parking lot. A female officer stepped out of the car, it was Sergeant Michelle Jansen. She put on her officer's hat and walked over to the school.

"Ah! Sergeant… Jansen! Oh my gosh!" Melodee ran up to her excitedly. "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Remember me? From last year?"

"How could I forget you?" Sergeant Jansen smiled. "You're Kate's friend Melodee. I'll always remember your 'oh my goshes'."

Melodee jumped and dragged her to the school's doors. "You see what's going on in there?"

* * *

In the custodian's storage, Kellyn was suffocating from lack of space and not just because of deficiency of air. With so little room for comfort, he found it difficult to adapt to the space here. If he stayed in this position, and Kellyn knew this, it would be pretty tough for his physical health. He turned his wrist to look at his watch; he had been hiding so far for over six minutes.

"Kate, just get out of here. You're in danger…" Kellyn said quietly. His hair was already messed up and he certainly didn't want Kate to see him like this, let alone in the storage. No. He had to get out of here…

_It looks like there's no other choice..._ Kellyn thought. He could only open the door again so he could get out. Well, it was better than letting himself suffocate in a cramped coffin.

Kellyn reached out his hand to push open the door, but it felt slightly jammed. So Kellyn used whatever force he could to pry the door open, it was shifting a little…

* * *

Kate ensured that no one was lurking around. Finally, she accepted that there was no possible way to get out of the school; at least she was told that Sergeant Michelle Jansen would stop by after school to see both Kellyn and herself. Kate supposed that her only hope depended on her Sergeant.

On the other hand, she could look for Kellyn while she was at it.

She examined each locker carefully and kept her alert on the riot. If Kellyn really was around here he would definitely be in hiding, so there must be a place where it would be big enough to squeeze him inside. All Kate needed to do was look for it, if he was here…

Kate cut down here facts; he would either be hiding in the boy's washroom or in a space big enough for him to put himself in. But she knew Kellyn; the girls would be very likely to barge into the washroom anyway and push him out. That would be it for Kellyn.

"Wait!" Kate said to herself. "What if he's…?"

"KATE PERIPHERY! COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE! NOW!" the voice of Stella roared.

Terrified, Kate looked around for any possible hiding place in the hall. There was the staff washroom (which no student was allowed to use and it was locked) and the custodian's storage. Knowing Kellyn and the pursuing girls, they would probably raid the washrooms anyway. Kellyn couldn't have gone far, but she needed a place to hide. She could look for Kellyn later. So Kate marched her way to the storage, placed her hand on the knob and opened the door.

Somehow, the door seemed to have opened like a blast. Kate _and_ Kellyn, before they knew it, had their lips pressed hard against each other. The twosome looked and stared at each other in shock.

Of course it would have been extremely painful when they crashed. Right before their lips parted a flash came from the side of the lockers. Kellyn looked at Kate, face pink. "Uh… Katherine? I… I don't know… how can I put this…?"

Another flash came, and this time the twosome looked at where it was coming from. It was a girl, camera in hand, who had her face contorted in frustration. "PREPARE TO BE SCAMMED! KELLYN! I'VE GOT ENOUGH PICTURES OF YOU TWO THAT YOU KISSED! AND BY LOOKING AT YOU I CAN PROVE IT!"

Then she took off. Kellyn looked at Kate and Kate looked at Kellyn. They fully understood what the girl meant: their lips were slightly bruised when they collided.

"That's classic," Kellyn grimaced. "In a pretty bad way."

"That's _definitely_ not classic," Kate muttered. "The next thing we'll know…"

_AIEEEEEEE!_ They heard loud screams echo through the hallways, and when they looked where they came from; there was the mob of girls led by Stella rushing toward them. From their faces; they could tell that they were more determined to show off revenge toward them –

"Hey! KATE!" screamed the yearbook group. "Look! We've got a petition to kick you out of the school! Here! We've already got a hundred signatures on it already!"

Instead of listening to them, the twosome ran away immediately. Now the girls had begun to follow them in pursuit.

"You can't run forever!" screamed Stella. "We've got everyone from Kellyn's fan club surrounding every corner of the school!"

Kellyn then realised that the battle was lost, and pushed Kate in the direction of the front doors.

"Go and get help! I'll try to hold them off for now," he urged, but Kate shook her head.

"No! I've already left you once at the port!" she said. "I'm not going to leave you again!"

"Just go! I'll survive this time," Kellyn said with a warming smile. "There won't be any gunfire this time, okay?"

Kate, finally reaching an agreement, ran away as Kellyn was seized by many girls, and they did their best to begin interrogating him…

* * *

At the entrance doors of Gleneagle Secondary, Sergeant Jansen managed to force one door open so she could finally gain access to the school.

"Everyone, please stay outside," she ordered. Everyone obeyed without question, as she was an RCMP officer after all.

She casually walked into the hallways and according to Melodee's information; Kellyn was being pursued by a bunch of girls from the yearbook group. Jansen grinned at the thought that he was being popular, and chuckled at the other thought that she knew he never wanted to be.

_I guess it'd be better to go to his 'rescue'_, she thought. _I'd be doing both Kate and Kellyn a favour!_

* * *

"Can I have your socks, Kellyn? Pretty please?"

"_No,_" he answered sternly. "There's no p –"

"Oh, Kellyn! Can I have just _a strand_ of your hair for my biology project?"

"No!"

"Could you meet me up on the weekends? Just for twenty-four hours?!"

"No! NO! Not even a minute!"

"What about ME Kellyn? We could go clubbing together!" suggested Stella.

"If you knew me, I would NEVER go to a club!"

"Oh Kellyn…!" a voice sang out. "I've got your bags and binders that you threw in the boy's washroom! Does that mean you'll go out with ME?"

"You went to the boy's washroom?!" Kellyn demanded in surprise.

"Of course! It's just so…" the girl drifted off dreamily.

_This is getting ridiculous_, Kellyn thought.

Indeed, there was so much pulling and fist grabbing at him that Kellyn felt like he was going to tear apart like a sheet of paper. Although he was wearing a sweater, it was badly crinkled.

"One final decision to end all this!" Stella yelled out. "Here, Kellyn, you see this?"

A one sheet of paper was shoved on Kellyn's face. With no free hand to hold it as so many girls were grasping onto him. Sylvanna picked it up and showed it to him.

"This, Kellyn, is a petition to kick Katherine out of the school!" Stella said triumphantly. "There's nothing you can do! What I DON'T believe is you haven't got your first kiss yet! Ha!"

Kellyn was expecting the same camera girl to speak out, but there was no noise, so Kellyn supposed she wanted to give Stella some thrill. Worse yet, Kellyn didn't want to admit that he accidentally kissed Kate already.

"_Here, Kellyn…_" Stella's face was suddenly in front of his. "_Allow me to show you what a kiss feels like. You're going to love it…_"

Unable to move as many arms were locked on his and his feet were pinned to the ground so he was forced to kneel, let alone his own head which was _**restrained **_by many girls, Kellyn saw the worst as Stella moved closer to him, her eyes closed and lips slightly parted…

"HEY! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" an exhausted voice bellowed through the hallways with the sound of running footsteps.

All the girls turned to see a young university-age woman in RCMP suit running toward them.

"Stop whatever you're doing!" Sergeant Jansen shouted. It wasn't a suggestion.

The girls released Kellyn immediately and backed away. Even Stella had to follow, although she did it with clenched fists.

"Okay…" Jansen said to catch her breath, and then she faced Kellyn. "You alright there, Kellyn?"

"Yes, ma'am," Kellyn said back, though he tried to say it while restraining a sore neck.

One of the girls there questioned how the RCMP officer knew Kellyn's name, and Stella said, "That's Sergeant Jansen! She came to our school last year to visit Kellyn's class!"

After Sergeant Jansen had made sure Kellyn was fine, she sent him to find Ms. Stott.

"I'm no teacher," she said. "It's better for one to handle this."

"Of course, Michelle," Kellyn said, and he took off.

It then came to Sergeant Jansen's thought that this was the first in a long time since either Kate or Kellyn had called her by her first name. She gave a small smile.

Out of her peripheral vision, she noticed a slip of paper on the floor where Kellyn had just kneeled. She reached out, grabbed it, and examined it. It was inscribed with at least a dozen signatures. Suspicious, she turned to the girls.

"Can you tell me what's with this?" Jansen said through a smile.

"It's…! Uh…" Stella trailed off.

Jansen took one last look at the paper and said, "It looks more like a petition if you ask me. If you've got so many signatures _dated today_, what's the rush?"

All the girls remained silent.

Ms. Stott turned up eventually with Kellyn right behind her, saying, "Kellyn's just given me the details as to what happened. Apparently, you girls tried to tear him to pieces and you tried to kick Katherine Periphery out of the school!"

Still, the girls remained silent and it only got worse for them when Sergeant Jansen said, "Oh, is that what this is all about? Here you go, Ms. Stott."

She passed Ms. Stott the petition and she was promptly shocked in the next seconds. She shook her head.

"Okay… it looks like there'll have to be some regulation going around here," she declared. "First of all, I need to see all you girls about this 'fan club' of Kellyn in my classroom. Next, you're going to get a whole lot of lecturing done by me! In addition, leave Katherine alone. Enough said."

All the girls looked as if she had delivered a crushing blow on their hearts, and one by one they slowly sulked away to Ms. Stott's English classroom. Ms. Stott then nodded to Sergeant Jansen and walked away to follow them.

"Here you go, Kellyn," Sergeant Jansen said, handing Kellyn his books, bag, and binders.

"Oh, thanks Sergeant Jansen," Kellyn said. "Say, where's Kate – I mean – Katherine?"

Jansen put her hat back on. "I have no idea. Maybe she's outside?"

"Well, I _did_ push her to the doors when I got interrogated," Kellyn explained.

* * *

So it turned out, Jansen was right after all. Kate was safely outside waiting for Kellyn and chatting with Melodee.

"Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!" Melodee said quickly, her hands squeezed together. "Are you sure that you got a picture taken of you and Kellyn?"

"Uh… yeah," Kate said shamefully. "She said – she said that Kellyn was going to be scammed. I just hope it wouldn't be _that_ bad."

"If it's on the newspaper," Melodee said. "Oh my gosh! The whole school will have a good laugh! Even my self! Oh my gosh!"

"On the other hand," Melodee said. "At least I don't have to tell Kellyn you like him, you've already done that, right?"

Kate froze, and relaxed. "In a way, Melodee. In a way."

Sergeant Jansen then reappeared at the front doors, this time with Kellyn by her side.

"Kellyn!" Kate cried out, running toward him and hugging him. "I thought you wouldn't survive that! How did you?"

"I owe it to Sergeant Jansen," Kellyn said, smiling. "Thanks ma'am."

"My pleasure," Jansen said. "It's fine to do you two a favour."

"Oh my gosh!" Melodee smoothed her auburn hair and clapped her hands.

Sergeant Michelle Jansen then waved good-bye to Kate and Kellyn, got into her car and went away to the RCMP detachment on Guildford Way.

Many minutes later, Melodee kept on chatting with Kate on the road to Johnson Street while Kellyn gave a wave to Ivan, as Ivan was heading back to his home (on a street called Lansdowne) while Kellyn trekked uphill on Johnson Street back to Pierce Place.

* * *

**Note: Ms. Stott and Mr. De Bakker are real teachers I've had. They're real!**


	12. Little Sis' Surprise

**Finally, here's the final chapter of this story.**

* * *

_**Chapter twelve**_

The weekend arrived much too soon as Kellyn was shaken awake by Little Sis.

"Wake up, Big Brother!"

She, with her excessively long sleeves, was grabbing Kellyn's arm and continuously shaking him.

"Little Sis…" Kellyn said with his eyes closed. "Give me a few more minutes, please?"

Little Sis did not let go.

"No! I want you to come downstairs right now!" she persisted. "I want you to make breakfast for me. Please, Big Brother?"

"I'll give you this win," Kellyn said, and he got up. "Don't expect me to give you a good breakfast."

Little Sis shook her head. "Aww… Big Brother, you _always_ make good breakfasts, even if you don't try. Come on! Mom and dad are off buying groceries, so that means I get no breakfast. Please, Big Brother? I'm your little sister…"

When Kellyn didn't want to get up, in spite that he said he would, Little Sis decided to take the matter into her own hands: she went to the other side of Kellyn's bed and tried to push him off so that he would wake up. But Kellyn was simply too heavy for her.

He smiled at the effort she was putting, and Kellyn Fiore 'slipped' off his bed by himself so that not only he would wake up but also give Little Sis some sense of achievement.

"About time!" Little Sis said. "Okay now, Big Brother. Let's go have some breakfast!"

So Kellyn went to brush his teeth again and got changed as well. He came out wearing a pair of black Nike pants (it _was_ cold that day) and a deep blue collared shirt.

"Now, let's go make breakfast," Kellyn declared.

"Yay!"

Little Sis took the lead down the stairs for Kellyn to follow. He indeed made a sharp 180 degree turn to the left and went inside the kitchen.

"So, Little Sis," Kellyn said. "What would you like for breakfast this morning?"

Little Sis sat down near the granite table and pondered for the next while. After minutes (minutes, not seconds) she made a decision. Kellyn wasn't bothered, he was patient.

"I'd like… an omelette with green onions and pepper!"

Kellyn shook his head. "So it's going to be cayenne pepper, right?"

"NO!" Little Sis shouted. "I don't like cayenne pepper! Make it black pepper!"

Kellyn scoffed, and reached out to grab and break two eggs. After that, he fired up the stove and began to stir the eggs with a pair of chopsticks (he figured it was effective to do it that way) and then he poured a drop of canola oil (Canadian-made, his and Little Sis' personal favourite) on the pan. The egg mix was then poured on the pan and then Kellyn went to grate some cheese.

"Big Brother…!" Little Sis sang out. "Are you finished yet?"

"Give me some time!" Kellyn shouted.

"O-kay…" Little Sis said. "Big Brother, I'll go help set up the table!"

She opened a kitchen drawer and took out two forks. But when it came to setting up plates, they were in a cupboard and it was way too high for her, so she brought only the forks to the granite table instead.

Minutes later, Kellyn had begun to chop fine pieces of green onion and then, when the egg was almost cooked, added the cheese and onion pieces onto the egg. He grabbed a spatula (made of toughened plastic as their mom forbids them to damage the pan with metal) and flipped the egg over.

When it was almost done, Kellyn used cracked pepper to add on the omelette. Afterwards he grabbed two plates from the cupboard and slid half the omelette onto one plate and the other half on another. In addition, Kellyn poured two glasses of warm water and served it all onto the table.

"Here you go," Kellyn placed the omelette in front of Little Sis. "Enjoy!"

Little Sis' smile widened and they began to eat the breakfast that Kellyn had promised was going to be one of the best she tasted.

* * *

When they had finished eating, Kellyn courteously brought all the dishes to wash, and Little Sis insisted that she did the washing.

"Your head is the only thing that's higher than the counter," Kellyn said.

"Yep! And that's all I need to wash dishes," Little Sis replied. "After all, you already made breakfast, right? Unless… would you like to wash the dishes?"

Kellyn turned away. "Actually, I think I'll go grab the newspaper."

Little Sis grinned and began to reach out for her dish.

* * *

At the front door, Kellyn kneeled on the ground to pick up the day's _Province_, his naturally preferred provincial newspaper, and brought it back to the room with the granite table. Laid down in front of him, he began to read what the headlines were.

And then disaster struck.

Kellyn couldn't help but notice and recognise a sheet of white paper titled **Gleneagle Secondary School Today**. Of course, Kellyn had seen enough newsletters from his school before to know what they looked like, but the odd thing was that it was in the _Province_, which bothered him.

_Gleneagle doesn't subscribe to the _Province_ to deliver newsletters_, Kellyn thought. _Why did they want _this_ newsletter published today?_

Kellyn pulled out the newsletter to examine it in full, and it was the one thing he would soon immediately regret doing.

It was a large picture of him and Kate, lips pressed together with their eyes wide open, taken by the camera girl the day before and this nevertheless gave Kellyn's body a shock. After that, pried his eyes from the picture and looked at the article.

_Spring: Gleneagle Secondary_

_This early spring of the school year kicks off with this romantic pairing between Kellyn Fiore and Katherine Periphery. The photo, as shown above, no doubt gives the sense that Kellyn has a girlfriend. However, as popular as he might be, he has already SHATTERED a bunch of hearts here at Gleneagle. Eyewitnesses claim (and these eyewitnesses are contacts we trust) that Kellyn has been dating Katherine for many weeks, and most recently last week –_

"What?!" Kellyn exclaimed. "We were operating with the RCMP just that week!" and then he decided to skip the details and continued to read then end bit.

…_and therefore it would be necessary for the province of British Columbia to know this disturbing news. Although hundreds of students have tried in effort to get Katherine out of Gleneagle, Kellyn wouldn't allow that, but it still remains that Kellyn has punched a massive hole in this school. Here they are, sharing a kiss, and it still pains the editors to even read this._

_Kellyn Fiore! How do you feel now? We know you love to read the _Province_, so how does it feel to have this bit of news for all of British Columbia to see on your favourite newspaper?_

_Signed,_

_The Gleneagle Secondary yearbook group_

The bottom line was: Kellyn was being receiving a scandal attack from his fellow students. Sure, he knew his classmates respected him for they knew him. But for the entire province to know, let alone the city of Coquitlam, had crossed a line.

He looked at the photo one more time, and he couldn't help but blush.

"Oh Big _Brother…_" Little Sis called out. "I'm done with the dishes! I just need help getting the plates back into the cupboard!"

There was no response.

"Big Brother?" Little Sis called out again. "What's going on?"

"Oh! Sorry Little Sis, I'll be right there!"

Little Sis thought, _Big Brother normally doesn't take that long to answer, and he's one of the most efficient people I know! What's with him right now?_

She still waited on Kellyn, and when Kellyn finally entered the kitchen she noticed he had a little bit of pink on his cheeks. Little Sis walked up to him.

"Big Brother," she said, her hands and extremely long sleeves on her hips. "What did you do? Let's see… I know! I'll just take a look myself!"

She ran into the dining room with the granite table before Kellyn even knew it, and by then he rushed back to stop her.

"Is it in the Province?" Little Sis said.

"No!" Kellyn said, his voice shaking.

"Okay," Little Sis replied, not really caring one way or the other and reached out for Kellyn's newspaper. But then Kellyn dashed and grabbed the paper before she did.

"J – just leave it alone –" he stammered.

"Aww… Big Brother, your face is all red, how cute!" Little Sis said with her hands on her cheeks. "_Give me the paper_…!"

"You'll regret it if you read it!" Kellyn said breathlessly.

"I'm your little sister…!" she sang. "There's nothing you can do."

At that, Little Sis swung her sleeves at Kellyn, blinding his view and relaxing his guard, and then Little Sis rushed in and snatched the Province from Kellyn.

"Okay now, let's see…" she said, opening the paper. "What do you have in here?"

Kellyn watched, horrified, at the sight of his little sister soon-to-be reading his shame and humiliation. The bottom line was, he couldn't do anything to stop her.

"Little Sis," Kellyn said timidly. "Hand me back my paper."

She shook her head and kept reading and flipping through pages. "Nope, I've got to see the reason why your face is so red! Maybe I could find a cure?"

"By all means," Kellyn tried to reach for the paper, but was outmatched. "You're going to regret reading that paper."

"Is it in the paper?" Little Sis wondered. "Or is it your school newsletter that I'm looking for?"

Kellyn jerked, and as if his face couldn't get any more red, it did. "Wait. How did you know about the newsletter, anyway?"

Little Sis grinned triumphantly. "Lucky guess. Aha! So it really _is_ the newsletter that's the source?"

Kellyn covered his eyes.

"Well, it's right behind you, Big Brother!"

Right before Kellyn could react to Little Sis, she swiped the newsletter before he could and she found herself facing the picture of (Kellyn bowed his head) Kellyn and Kate sharing a kiss.

"AIIIIIIII!" Little Sis screamed. "BIG BROTHER!"

"Shh!" Kellyn ordered. "Calm down, Little Sis! It's not that bad! This was by accident!"

But Little Sis was already hammering Kellyn's chest already, and it hurt.

"Big Brother!" Little Sis cried out. "I _told_ you not to go romantic on Big Sister! Even though she's not related, I still treat her like one! I warned you, so now I have to go tell the yearbook group now! And then the yearbook group comes first!"

Kellyn stumbled onto the floor, and Little Sis stamped off away in frustration.

_Some morning…_ Kellyn thought. _Maybe I ought to get Kate to help out._

He walked over to the phone, picked it up, and dialed for Kate. The waiting time for him took a mere twelve seconds.

"_Hello?_"

"Oh, hi, Kate," Kellyn said.

"_Oh! Hi, Kellyn!_" Kate said excitedly. "_Did you call to hear the_ pleasant_ sound of my voice?_"

Kellyn's face heated slightly. "What?! No! I'm calling because –"

"_First,_" Kate interrupted. "_I want you so say you're calling so you could hear the pleasant sound of my voice._"

Kellyn rolled his eyes. "Oh, alright. I'm calling so I could hear the pleasant sound of your voice."

"_That's more like it_," Kate said. "_Now what do you need?_"

"Just come over here and see," Kellyn insisted. "It's somewhat serious."

The doorbell rang minutes later, and with the annoyance Little Sis was facing he figured it would have been better to answer the door himself. He got up, walked to the door and opened it.

"Good morning, Kellyn," said Kate Periphery. "May I come in?"

"Of course," Kellyn replied courteously. "Be my guest."

When Kate walked in, she (like Little Sis) noticed a faint tint of pink of Kellyn's face.

"What's with the face, Kellyn?" she asked. "You seemed troubled."

"Oh, no, it's nothing," Kellyn said in an assuring manner. "I just got into a spot of trouble with Little Sis, that's all."

Kate raised an eyebrow. "What kind of trouble?"

Kellyn was unresponsive, and instead closed the door and walked to retrieve his copy of the _Province_. He went back to Kate shortly after and handed the newspaper to her.

"You see – this?" Kellyn struggled to say. "This is what happened."

As Kate reached out for the newspaper, Kellyn said, "It looks like the yearbook group still decided not to give up on us and they publish a scandal of – the both of us – on the school's… newsletter."

"Oh? And why are you giving me the paper…?" Kate said skeptically.

"They published the newsletter _with_ today's _Province_," Kellyn said, but this time he looked away as his face was turning red again. "The content – aw, you read it yourself!"

Kate pulled out the newsletter from the paper and her jaw dropped.

"K – Kellyn!" she gasped. "I – uh –"

Indeed, she was looking at a full colour picture of herself and Kellyn face-to-face and their lips –

"Don't read it," Kellyn cautioned.

"I won't," Kate assured. "I'll say this is bad enough."

Unfortunately for Kellyn, most unfortunate, Kate couldn't resist the urge to do so, and then Kate started to skim through the page right in front of Kellyn's eyes.

"Kate!" Kellyn shouted. "Stop! This is what's making Little Sis so mad at me right now!"

Kate laughed and kept reading. "You know, Kellyn, this article sounds to me like a classic romance story. You know, where one boy is tailed by a thousand girls and only favours one other, and then all the girls try their best to separate the couple…"

She looked at Kellyn, who had an expression between wide-eyed and a glare.

"That's not helping the situation!" Kellyn said furiously. "Little Sis won't keep hammering at me for the next month and quite probably even more! And then there's the whole of British Columbia…"

Kate, who saw Kellyn so down, said, "Here, what if I helped you with dealing the situation?"

Kellyn turned away. "All of BC and Vancouver… it's a nightmare. The most preposterous part is that all this stuff is lies! I mean I haven't and never dated you last week; we were helping out the RCMP! What if I tell this to the editors?"

"It's already written in stone, Kellyn."

"Oh, thanks a lot, Kate."

Kate said, "But at least since everyone knows about it, the so-called fan club would have to leave you alone in peace."

Kellyn shook his head, his back to Kate. "But I _didn't_ want my personal life exposed to the school! If you really think about it, the meaning of 'secret' is completely defiled. How can I live this way?"

Kate reached out an arm and turned Kellyn to face her, saying, "Perhaps I can help."

She took Kellyn's hands in hers, leaned in and brushed her lips against Kellyn for exactly one second and parted, leaving him astonished and touched.

"Kate… I –" Kellyn started, but Kate wasn't finished there.

"And this is for saving me," she said and brushed her lips again, leaving Kellyn speechless and his face quite red.

Kellyn swallowed, and finally said, "Okay… and this is for Little Sis."

This time it was Kellyn who laid out a kiss for Kate, and she giggled at the thought that this was Kellyn's own decision to do so. She closed her eyes and felt his lips on hers for precious seconds…

"AAAIIIIIIIIIIIEE! BIG BROTHER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" screamed a voice. It, of course, was none other than the inestimable little sister of Kellyn Fiore.

Little Sis was just walking down the staircase that led to the house's foyer, hoping that she'd do something to relieve some of the stress she faced at least ten minutes ago, and now she just happened to walk down to see… her worst reality – live and in action.

Kate pulled herself away from Kellyn and immediately Little Sis jumped down from the stairs (yes, jumped down. Although it was only four steps…) and ran to Kellyn. In an instant, Little Sis pounded Kellyn over and over and over and over on his waist…

"Ouch! Ow! _Little Sis!_" Kellyn demanded. "Stop! Ow! What are you doing?!"

"How could you do this to me, Big Brother?!" said Little Sis, not stopping to rest on her assault on Kellyn. "You know what I feared most, and still you don't listen to me!"

She continued this vein for some time until one point Kellyn was forced to fall down on his back. Little Sis took the opportunity to continue attacking Kellyn's chest this time, using fists and fingers to mercilessly poke her big brother.

Kellyn's eyes turned to Kate's, with a clear expression that implied, _Help me!_

Kate, on the contrary, found this to be adorable to watch, and with fists on her chin and elbows down, she watched for a minute to see how long Kellyn would survive.

"Ah!" Kellyn choked. "Kate! Help me!"

"No! Big Brother!" Little Sis denied. "You've done some much damage already to me! Kate cannot help you now…!"

And then Kellyn felt a drop hit his neck, he turned back to Little Sis to notice that tears were starting to fall down and off her face in a free-flow.

Little Sis sniffed, and then she began to cry loudly.

This prompted Kellyn to, in spite that he was weakened, get back up again to help comfort his sister first of all…

"Little Sis…" Kellyn said in a soothing tone, and with his arms open to Little Sis.

"Wah…!" Little Sis cried, and fell into Kellyn's arms and hugged Kellyn's neck.

"What's wrong, Little Sis?" Kellyn asked.

Little Sis still kept crying, and could barely say, "I – It's not fair! Not fair! I said not for you to go romantic on Big Sister Kate, and here you are, disobeying my orders and I threatened to reveal your secret to the school's yearbook group!"

Still, Little Sis still cried, and she even whimpered. "I never even got to reveal your secret on my account because the yearbook group already did that, Big Brother! I always lose at everything! Why…"

Kellyn and Little Sis held that embrace for some time, and Kellyn was even more surprised his little sister could cry so much. Later, Little Sis hugged Kellyn even more tightly.

"Little Sis," Kellyn said. "This is natural. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. But don't worry, because there'll be a time you'll win at something. Maybe you'll even get back at me one day!"

"Big Brother…" she said.

Kate found this to be emotional and she herself even started to cry. She kneeled herself down to Little Sis' level and talked.

"You see, Little Sis? You're going to get back at Kellyn! It's just not going to be today, but it'll come on a future day! Right?"

Little Sis still did not stop crying, and Kellyn said, "Come on! Where's that little sister I saw every day? The one who would always smile no matter what the circumstances are? The one who would always annoy her big brother whenever possible?"

Kellyn was rewarded with a light giggle from Little Sis and she started to cry again… and laugh at the same time.

"Hahahaha… Big Brother!" Little Sis said. "I'm flattered!"

She finally broke away from Kellyn and looked both at him and Kate, her face still filled with laughter and joy.

"Someday I'll separate the two of you, but I know it won't last, so I'll do it again!" she said innocently. "Thank you, Big Brother, I'm so glad to have a brother like you!"

Kellyn grinned. "Now that's the little sister I know."

Kate smiled as well, and then Little Sis hugged them both at the same time.

"You and Big Brother are one of a kind," Little Sis said. "I still can't get over the fact that it was you two who saved all of us!"

"It's what we do," Kate and Kellyn said.

"Heh-heh… you've even got like minds!" Little Sis said. "Are you trying to make it harder for me to separate you two?"

The twosome shook their heads, and Little Sis expected that.

"Tell you what, Little Sis," Kate said. "Why don't we go out for a walk to Coquitlam Centre? We could do with a little bit of cool air, and Kellyn will buy us lunch too!"

They finally started to head out of Pierce Place and prepared to walk their way down to Johnson Street, and as they walked through the streets Kellyn and Kate found that this walk wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for them with their efforts as the enforcers of Vancouver.

Overall, as Little Sis tugged on their hands to cross the road, the twosome knew that there was no place like home, and that home was in Coquitlam.

"Wait…" Little Sis asked Kate as they walked past Guildford Way. "Are you asking Big Brother for a date?"

Kellyn and Kate simultaneously said, "No!"

"Good," Little Sis said. "Lunch is on Big Brother!"


End file.
